[9] The school is perhaps best known for four of its alumni who went on to success in acting: Gene Hackman, Ned Luke, the brothers Dick and Jerry Van Dyke, Donald O'Connor; and one who became an important figure in popularizing early twentieth-century popular music, Bobby Short.

For the 2004 production, Van Dyke returned to the school, and learned one of the numbers ("Put On a Happy Face") alongside the students, performing both nights of the show.

[14][15] DHS competes in the Big Twelve conference and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA); the organization which organizes most interscholastic high school sports and competitive activities in the state of Illinois.

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track & field.

[6] While the Vikings name stuck, an attempt to change the school's primary color from maroon to light blue failed to catch on.