the list of 9 for june 30, 2009:
NINE PAIRS OF NOTABLE PEOPLE WITH THE SAME NAME
The actor Michael Keaton had to change his original name before he could get work. Why? Becausehis original name was Michael Douglas. A conflict, you see. (Bad enough that there was also a talkshow host at the time named Mike Douglas!) SAG even has ruled that different screen actors cannotperform under the same name. Thus, Bill Macy goes by "William H. Macy" to avoid being confusedwith Bill Macy, the actor from Maude, who had the name first. Certain names are too commonto avoid throughout history, however. Below are eighteen souls from past and present who haveoccasionally been mistaken for each other when their names were used out of context.
- JOHN PAUL JONES. The American Revolutionary War hero known for his battle cry, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Also the bassist for Led Zeppelin.
- FRANCIS BACON. English philosopher in the 16th/17thcentury; Irish painter of disturbing portraits in the 20th century.
- PAUL SIMON. Bowtie-wearing U.S. Senator from Illinois, nowdead, and diminutive singer-songwriter, still alive.
- ROGER TAYLOR. This one's particularly confusing: Britishdrummer for Queen? Or British drummer for Duran Duran?
- THEO VAN GOGH. Theo the First was the brother of tormentedpost-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh. A century later, his great-grandson of the same name, acontroversial documentary filmmaker, was murdered on the streets of Amsterdam by a Muslim zealot.
- DAVE THOMAS. Founder of Wendy's hamburger joints; Canadian comic actor best known as one half of "Bob & Doug McKenzie" from SCTV. Take off, eh?
- JULIE BROWN. Zany comic actress from the 80s best knownfor her song "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" and her role in Earth Girls Are Easy. Shehad a show on MTV at the time, which coincidentally was around the time that British-born"Downtown" Julie Brown was an MTV veejay.
- THOMAS/TOM WOLFE. Two celebrated novelists. Thomas Wolfewrote Look Homeward, Angel. Tom Wolfe, born just seven years before the elder (andunrelated) Wolfe passed away at the tender age of 37, wrote Bonfire of the Vanities.
- ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK. Crazy as it may seem, 20th centuryBritish crooner Gerry Dorsey adopted the hilariously nerdy name of 19th century German composer in order to stand out.
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