Meet the Class of 2026

Greek-American actor and pioneer of American independent film John Cassavetes studied at Blair as part of the Class of 1947, and he went on to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, studying under the expert tutelage of director Don Richardson. It was after his graduation when his legendary career began, performing in shows and taking on roles in film and television. His first notable role came in 1955 when he starred opposite Vince Edwards and David Cross in The Night Holds Terror.

After a successful stint in acting, John’s directorial debut occurred in 1959 with the film Shadows, following the lives of three African-American siblings in New York City. Shadows won the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival the following year. He continued to act to fund many of his own projects, most notably in Rosemary’s Baby, and was nominated for the 1968 best supporting actor Academy Award for his role in The Dirty Dozen. In the 1970s, several of John’s films garnered critical acclaim, including a Writers Guild of America Award for best comedy written directly for the screen for Minnie and Moskowitz and an Academy Award nomination for best director for A Woman Under the Influence, starring his wife and Hollywood icon Gena Rowlands. Across his career in acting, directing and screenwriting, he received three Academy Award nominations, several Golden Globe nods and an Emmy nomination. 

John passed away in 1989, and two years later, the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award was established, presented by Film Independent to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1 million. In 2007, he was recognized as only one of eight filmmakers to be nominated for best directing, writing and acting Oscars over the course of their lifetime. Three of John’s films have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” and he acted in two additional films on the registry. His industry legacy continues with his children, Zoe, Xan and Nick, who all have credits as actors and directors. 

Internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, indie-folk musician and Blairstown native Anthony D’Amato ’06 grew up playing piano and soon picked up guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and harmonica while also honing his vocal skills. He released his first studio album, The Shipwreck from the Shore, in 2014, shortly after he graduated from Princeton University. Inspired in part by time spent studying with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon, the album garnered rave reviews, with NPR inviting Anthony for a Tiny Desk Concert and lauding that “he writes in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen or Josh Ritter.” Uncut proclaimed that his songwriting “echoes with early Bob Dylan.” His 2016 follow-up, Cold Snap, resulted in his first national TV appearance and recognition from Rolling Stone, who dubbed his sound “folk music raised on New Jersey grit.” Anthony’s most recent solo album, At First There Was Nothing, has been met with similar praise, and his songs have appeared in soundtracks everywhere from ABC and CBS to Paramount+ and AppleTV. 

In 2021, Anthony joined with fellow singer/songwriters Brian Dunne, Don DiLego and Mike Montali to form the instrument-swapping, vocal-trading “supergroup” Fantastic Cat. Hailed by Rolling Stone as “gloriously fun,” the band has appeared multiple times on national TV, cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay Radio Chart, recorded with Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz, and sold out dates around the United States and Europe. The group is currently on tour in support of their third album, Cat out of Hell.

Disc jockey, electronic musician and record producer James Hinton ’06 is a successful musician who was able to weave his studies in math and physics into his music at Brown University. Upon graduating from the prestigious school, James worked briefly in a lab while serving as a music teacher at Brown before turning his attention full time to his music career. Known professionally as “The Range,” he officially launched his first album, The Big Dip, in 2011. James gained critical acclaim for the unique approach to his album Potential, sampling the vocals from unknown artists across Youtube and releasing an accompanying documentary that shared the artists’ stories. About James, Wired magazine wrote, “This guy made one of the year’s best albums from Youtube sounds.” In 2022, James’s latest album Mercury used the same sampling technique and continued to build The Range’s portfolio in the electronic music space.

James’s musical success comes as no surprise to those that knew him at Blair. A well-rounded student, James was described by Blair’s most veteran faculty member as among the most remarkable musical talents to grace Blair. With his band, The Tracks, he performed on the hilltop, effortlessly shifting from guitar to keyboard to drums. James took advantage of all the School had to offer as a prefect, multi-sport athlete and top student. For his efforts, he was awarded the Blair Academy Trophy, presented to the member of the senior class with the highest all-around achievement.

Cass Gardiner ’07 is an Anishinaabe Algonquin filmmaker, curator and writer from Kebaowek First Nation whose work explores Indigenous identity, storytelling and culture through documentary film and the arts. At Blair, Cass was involved in every corner of campus life—an artist, thespian, athlete, community servant and activist. After graduating, she moved to New York City to study documentary media and Indigenous studies at New York University’s Gallatin School before continuing her studies in Ontario at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she earned an MFA in documentary media. Cass has since worked at several leading documentary film organizations, including the National Film Board of Canada, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Institute, and is currently a film curator for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Working in the augmented reality (AR) space, Cass and her partner, Juan Mateo Menendez, created the video game Land Invaders, which was the first extended-reality work selected by and premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2026. They also created “Skoden Warriors,” an AR art piece created for Amplifier’s ENCODED show, an unsanctioned takeover of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing in New York City in 2025. Her work in film includes Jewel’s Hunt, a documentary she produced that was supported by the Independent Television Service and Tribeca Film Institute and broadcast on PBS in 2020, and Janelle Niles: Inconvenient, which she directed for the Citizen Minutes series that premiered at Hot Docs in 2023 and is streaming on CBC Gem and Crave in Canada. Cass currently has three video pieces in the new “Botany of Nations” exhibition at The Academy of Science, Drexel University in Philadelphia, reframing the Lewis and Clark expedition through the lens of Indigenous plant knowledge. The show is open to the public and runs until February 2027. Cass continues to be an active advocate and mentor while contributing to the broader arts community through curatorial work and writing published in outlets such as Inuit Art Quarterly, Cherry Bombe and the Oxford Food Symposium’s Proceedings.

Wayne Rasmussen—known to generations of Blair students and colleagues simply as “Razz”—left an enduring mark on Blair Academy through more than four decades of creative leadership and mentorship. Known for his remarkable work as the technical director of Blair’s theatre program, Razz played a pivotal role in shaping the visual and technical artistry behind countless Blair Academy Players’ productions. His expertise in stagecraft, lighting and sound transformed the stage into immersive worlds—from the striking onstage pool in Metamorphoses to the glowing New York City skyline during In the Heights. Just as importantly, he trained and mentored student technical crews with care and precision, treating them as professionals and giving them the confidence and skills to bring ambitious productions to life.

During his remarkable 43-year tenure on the hilltop, he was a valued and deeply respected member of the community, involved in nearly every aspect of Blair over the years—from academics and the arts to athletics and student life. At the time of his retirement in 2020, Razz was honored as the longest-serving faculty member and received Blair’s highest designation, the Citation of Merit. Blair is fortunate to have Razz return to campus regularly, hanging lights for the winter musical, filling in for a class or helping with audio for Commencement exercises. The wonderful and ongoing relationships Razz has forged with colleagues, students and families are a testament to the depth of his caring, and his legacy of generous service continues to inspire Blair teachers today.