There have been a number of success stories who have walked the halls of West Virginia University. However, some of these success stories go unrecognized. Here are 12 famous alumni that you never knew attended WVU:

Billy Mays

Before he was known for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom and other cleaning, home-based and maintenance products on television, William Darrell “Billy” Mays, Jr. studied at West Virginia University. While attending WVU, Mays was a walk-on linebacker for the WVU football team, for two years, before he dropped out.

Steve Harvey

Originally from Welch, West Virginia, Broderick Steven "Steve" Harvey is known for being an actor, comedian, entertainer, television/radio personality and author. Before Harvey became famous, he attended college at Kent State as well as West Virginia University and is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Conchata Ferrell

Originally from Charleston, West Virginia, Ferrell is most known for her role as Berta the housekeeper on "Two And A Half Men." Before she became a famous actress, Ferrell attended West Virginia University and graduated from Marshall University.

Stephen Coonts

After growing up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, this thriller and suspense novelist graduated from West Virginia University with a B.A. degree in political science.

Shortly after he, entered the Navy and flew an A-6 Intruder medium attack plane during the Vietnam War, where he served on two combat cruises aboard the USS Enterprise. Coonts published short stories in a number of publications before writing Flight Of The Intruder in 1986. That book, based in part on his experiences during the Vietnam War, spent 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists, and was made into a movie. This launched his career as a novelist, and he continued writing adventure-thrillers, most of them based on the main character from his first book, Jake Grafton. Coonts was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni at West Virginia University in 1992.

Don Knotts

This comedic actor is best known for his role as Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show, a role that earned him five Emmy awards. He also played landlord, Ralph Furley, on the 1970s and 1980s television sitcom, Three's Company. Originally from Morgantown, West Virginia, Knotts earned a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University after retuning from service in World War ll.

Matt Carson

Originally from Virginia, this author’s most recent works include "The Attic," "A Christmas Story" and, most recently, "On A Hill They Call Capital." Carson received a degree in political science and history from West Virginia University. As a student, he was the founder of the SRA (Student Rights Administration) in 1997, a group that gained national media attention for battling the then president of the University, David Hardesty, for his "dry fraternity" initiatives and for attempting to cut back on student tailgating at football games by instituting a "no keg" ruling. Carson was also a writer for The Daily Athenaeum, the WVU student newspaper and he gained attention for his often hilarious pro-party rants and for citing his determination to restore WVU as the "number one party school in the nation," as ranked by Playboy Magazine.

Jon McBride

McBride was born in Charleston, West Virginia but considers Beckley, West Virginia his hometown. He attended West Virginia University from 1960 to 1964 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1971. McBride is a member of Delta Theta fraternity. NASA selected McBride as an astronaut candidate in January 1978 and he became an astronaut in August 1979. His NASA assignments have included lead chase pilot for the maiden voyage of Space Shuttle Columbia, software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for STS-5, STS-6, and STS-7, Flight Data File (FDF) Manager, and orbital rendezvous procedures development.

Taylor Kinney

This actor who stars in the TV series, "Chicago Fire," attended West Virginia University. Kinney was featured in Lady Gaga’s music video for her song, “You and I.” Shortly after his appearance in her music video, Kinney and Lady Gaga began dating. The two have been dating since July of 2011. Kinney also stars in the movie, "The Other Woman."

Cheryl Hines

Hines is an actress, comedian, producer and director known for her role as Larry David's wife Cheryl on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, for which she was nominated for two Emmy awards. She also starred as Dallas Royce on the ABC sitcom, Suburgatory. After attending West Virginia University and Florida State University she eventually graduated from the University of Central Florida.

Curt Wootton

Pittsburgh Dad is an online series of short films featuring the portrayal of a blue-collar father from Pittsburgh who speaks with a thick Pittsburgh accent. Chris Preksta and Curt Wootton created this online series. Wootton is a graduate of West Virginia University and plays the Pittsburgh Dad. The first several episodes were recorded "just for fun" on an iPhone, with the intended audience only the two men's families and friends. It quickly became an Internet hit, generating three million YouTube views within six months.

John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight

Originally from Fairmont, West Virginia, Knight attended West Virginia University and was a cheerleader as well as a law student. He wrote a pep song, "Fight Mountaineers," which is still frequently used by the Mountaineer Marching Band, 90 years later. He also wrote the melody for a WVU song entitled, "To Thee Our Alma Mater," with words by a fellow graduate David A. Christopher. Knight’s first notable film role was in, She Done Him Wrong, and went on to play in hundreds of films over the next 30 years.

Jerry West

The one and only, Jerry West is originally from Chelyan, West Virginia. After graduating from WVU (where he holds 12 school records), West was voted 12 times into the All-NBA First and Second Teams, was elected into the NBA All-Star Team 14 times, and was chosen as the All-Star MVP in 1972, the same year that he won the only title of his career. West holds the NBA record for the highest points per game average in a playoff series with 46.3.