Stars that don't use names even close to their name
Peter Marshall ( Host of Hollywood Squares 1966-1981) Real name Ralph Pierre LeCock
Charley Weaver ( Old Time Commedian) Real name Clifford Arquette
Tony Curtis- Bernard Herschel Schwartz
Tony Randall- Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg
There are plenty out there, I know. What are ones you can think of.
Cary Grant --> Archibald Leach
Marilyn Monroe- Norma Jean Mortenson
John Denver- Henry John Detchendorf Jr
Dennis James- Demie James Sposa
Elton John–given name Reginald Dwight (hence the 1988 album Reg Strikes Back)
Speaking of Elton John, Kiki Dee's given name is Pauline Matthews.
Gene Simmons -- Chaim Vitz.
Geddy Lee -- Gary Weinrib.
Aleksandar Živojinović -- Alex Lifeson. (Had to look that one up).
Freddie Mercury <- Farrokh Bulsara
Whoopi Goldberg Is Caryn Elaine Johnson. However, Peter sounds similar to Pierre.
Jack Benny -- Benjamin Kubelsky
Mary Livingstone (Jack's wife) -- Sayde Marks
Dennis Day -- Eugene McNulty
Fred Allen -- John Sullivan
John Wayne -- Marion Morrison
Related to The Three Stooges:
Ted Healy -- Ernest Lea Nash
Moe Howard -- Harry Moses Horwitz
Curly Howard -- Jerome Horwitz
Shemp Howard -- Samuel Horwitz
Larry Fine -- Louis Feinberg
Curly Joe DeRita -- Joseph Wardell
(Joe Besser was the only Stooge who used his real name.)
Marilyn Manson - Brian Warner
Lana Del Rey - Elizabeth Grant
Elvis Costello - Declan McManus
Ringo Starr -- Richard Starkey
Conway Twitty -- Harold Jenkins
Lady Gaga – Stefani Germanotta
Charlie Sheen -- Carlos Estévez
Rita Hayworth -- Margarita Cansino
Harry Caray -- Harold Carabina
Iron Eyes Cody -- Espera de Corti
Muddy Waters -- McKinley Morganfield
Howlin' Wolf -- Chester Burnett
Meat Loaf -- Marvin Aday
Alice Cooper -- Vince Furnier
Acquanetta -- Mildred Davenport
Rodney Dangerfield -- Jacob Cohen
I'll leave out the rappers, because I'm not sure any of them use their real names.
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 08:15:52 PM
Fred Allen -- John Sullivan
This one is kind of silly, since he just went from one extremely boring white guy name to another. Most of the rest of them make sense (they're hard to remember or spell or obviously belonging to an ethnicity, so they were changed to avoid discrimination). I can only guess that there was already a John Sullivan in the union or something.
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 27, 2021, 12:36:22 AM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 08:15:52 PM
Fred Allen -- John Sullivan
This one is kind of silly, since he just went from one extremely boring white guy name to another. Most of the rest of them make sense (they're hard to remember or spell or obviously belonging to an ethnicity, so they were changed to avoid discrimination). I can only guess that there was already a John Sullivan in the union or something.
Discrimination against the Irish.
Danny Thomas -- Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz a/k/a Amos Jacobs Kairouz
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 09:13:18 PM
Related to The Three Stooges:
Ted Healy -- Ernest Lea Nash
Moe Howard -- Harry Moses Horwitz
Curly Howard -- Jerome Horwitz
Shemp Howard -- Samuel Horwitz
Larry Fine -- Louis Feinberg
Curly Joe DeRita -- Joseph Wardell
(Joe Besser was the only Stooge who used his real name.)
Were Moe, Curly, and Shemp legitimate brothers?
Some more examples (from the world of pro wrestling):
Triple H - Paul Levesque
CM Punk - Phil Brooks
Hulk Hogan - Terry Bollea
Lex Luger - Lawrence Pfohl
The Ultimate Warrior - James Hellwig (he'd later legally change his name to Warrior)
Superstar Billy Graham - Eldridge Coleman
Sting - Steve Borden
Speaking of the singer Sting, his real name is Gordon Sumner.
Quote from: ftballfan on November 28, 2021, 12:30:10 PM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 09:13:18 PM
Related to The Three Stooges:
Ted Healy -- Ernest Lea Nash
Moe Howard -- Harry Moses Horwitz
Curly Howard -- Jerome Horwitz
Shemp Howard -- Samuel Horwitz
Larry Fine -- Louis Feinberg
Curly Joe DeRita -- Joseph Wardell
(Joe Besser was the only Stooge who used his real name.)
Were Moe, Curly, and Shemp legitimate brothers?
Some more examples (from the world of pro wrestling):
Triple H - Paul Levesque
CM Punk - Phil Brooks
Hulk Hogan - Terry Bollea
Lex Luger - Lawrence Pfohl
The Ultimate Warrior - James Hellwig (he'd later legally change his name to Warrior)
Superstar Billy Graham - Eldridge Coleman
Sting - Steve Borden
Speaking of the singer Sting, his real name is Gordon Sumner.
Dwayne Johnson's nickname "The Rock" also came from his former pro wrestling alias of Rocky Maivia.
Quote from: ftballfan on November 28, 2021, 12:30:10 PM
Were Moe, Curly, and Shemp legitimate brothers?
Yes, Shemp (1895-1955), Moe (1897-1975), and Curly (1903-1952) were brothers. They also had two non-actor brothers, Irving (1891-1939), and Jack (1893-1976).
Mark Twain: Samuel Clemens
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 10:00:44 PM
I'll leave out the rappers, because I'm not sure any of them use their real names.
At least one rapper famously does, Obie Trice - his "Obie Trice, real name no gimmicks" line was sampled by Eminem in "Without Me".
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 27, 2021, 12:36:22 AM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 08:15:52 PM
Fred Allen -- John Sullivan
This one is kind of silly, since he just went from one extremely boring white guy name to another. Most of the rest of them make sense (they're hard to remember or spell or obviously belonging to an ethnicity, so they were changed to avoid discrimination). I can only guess that there was already a John Sullivan in the union or something.
David Bowie was born David Jones, but changed his last name to Bowie because there already was a Davy Jones who played in the Monkees.
There also have been many instances of stars with really long names intentionally leaving out certain parts when they perform, such as Harry Lillis Bing Crosby, who never used Harry or Lillis in public, and William Martin Joel, who is better known as Billy Joel but also went by Bill Martin early on in his career.
Quote from: Rothman on November 27, 2021, 12:46:29 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 27, 2021, 12:36:22 AM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 08:15:52 PM
Fred Allen -- John Sullivan
This one is kind of silly, since he just went from one extremely boring white guy name to another. Most of the rest of them make sense (they're hard to remember or spell or obviously belonging to an ethnicity, so they were changed to avoid discrimination). I can only guess that there was already a John Sullivan in the union or something.
Discrimination against the Irish.
Or against the Italians, as was the case with Dean Martin, whose real name was Dino Paul Crocetti.
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AM
David Bowie was born David Jones, but changed his last name to Bowie because there already was a Davy Jones who played in the Monkees.
Two more examples of using a stage name to avoid confusion with an existing actor and/or the SAG:
Michael Keaton, real name Michael Douglas
old-time actor Stewart Granger, real name James Stewart
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AM
David Bowie was born David Jones, but changed his last name to Bowie because there already was a Davy Jones who played in the Monkees.
Davy Jones, the future Monkee, came first, so he had rights to his name. He had been on the London stage and British TV since 1961. He first appeared in the US on The Ed Sullivan Show on 2/9/1964. Yes, the same show that introduced The Beatles to America. His post-Monkee career was up and down, not including Monkees reunions. He died in 2012.
Davy Jones, the future Bowie, came along a couple years later, fronting such bands as Davy Jones and the King Bees before changing his name and having his first hit with Space Oddity in 1967. He had a much better career, putting out his last original album two days before his death in 2016.
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AM
There also have been many instances of stars with really long names intentionally leaving out certain parts when they perform, such as Harry Lillis Bing Crosby, who never used Harry or Lillis in public, and William Martin Joel, who is better known as Billy Joel but also went by Bill Martin early on in his career.
Peter Crisscoula. Pretty easy to figure out that one. Also Steven Tallarico. You know him, he taught you how to walk this way.
In one of the predecessor bands to Chicago, drummer Danny Seraphine and saxophonist Walter Parazaider were known as Danny Sera and Walt Perry respectively.
The one I've always found kind of cool is that Neil Diamond is NOT a stage name–it's his real name.
Quote from: Rothman on November 27, 2021, 12:46:29 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 27, 2021, 12:36:22 AM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 08:15:52 PM
Fred Allen -- John Sullivan
This one is kind of silly, since he just went from one extremely boring white guy name to another. Most of the rest of them make sense (they're hard to remember or spell or obviously belonging to an ethnicity, so they were changed to avoid discrimination). I can only guess that there was already a John Sullivan in the union or something.
Discrimination against the Irish.
I'll drink to that!
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 30, 2021, 03:13:21 PM
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AM
David Bowie was born David Jones, but changed his last name to Bowie because there already was a Davy Jones who played in the Monkees.
Davy Jones, the future Monkee, came first, so he had rights to his name. He had been on the London stage and British TV since 1961. He first appeared in the US on The Ed Sullivan Show on 2/9/1964. Yes, the same show that introduced The Beatles to America. His post-Monkee career was up and down, not including Monkees reunions. He died in 2012.
Davy Jones, the future Bowie, came along a couple years later, fronting such bands as Davy Jones and the King Bees before changing his name and having his first hit with Space Oddity in 1967. He had a much better career, putting out his last original album two days before his death in 2016.
Did Davy Jones, the Monkee sing on Ed Sullivan? Did he sing rock n roll?
Dish Network shows Ed Sullivan shows, none of the bs between the acts just the people performing.
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AMQuote from: Rothman on November 27, 2021, 12:46:29 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 27, 2021, 12:36:22 AM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on November 26, 2021, 08:15:52 PM
Fred Allen -- John Sullivan
This one is kind of silly, since he just went from one extremely boring white guy name to another. Most of the rest of them make sense (they're hard to remember or spell or obviously belonging to an ethnicity, so they were changed to avoid discrimination). I can only guess that there was already a John Sullivan in the union or something.
Discrimination against the Irish.
Or against the Italians, as was the case with Dean Martin, whose real name was Dino Paul Crocetti.
Also discrimination against the Germans. Same with the Russians.
Quote from: allniter89 on November 30, 2021, 08:19:29 PM
Did Davy Jones, the Monkee sing on Ed Sullivan? Did he sing rock n roll?
He played the Artful Dodger in a stage production of Oliver Twist. He and a woman who's name I don't know appeared on the Sullivan show doing a scene from that play. It was what he was most famous for in the UK, prior to the Monkees.
Here is a YouTube clip of Davie Jones and the King Bees doing "Liza Jane." They were actually pretty good, but raw (similar to the early Who). He also fronted bands called The Mannish Boys and The Lower Third.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfsLLzhTUE
Quote from: catch22 on November 30, 2021, 02:21:34 PM
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AM
David Bowie was born David Jones, but changed his last name to Bowie because there already was a Davy Jones who played in the Monkees.
Two more examples of using a stage name to avoid confusion with an existing actor and/or the SAG:
Michael Keaton, real name Michael Douglas
old-time actor Stewart Granger, real name James Stewart
An odd twist on this: Bill Macy (famous for the 1970s sitcom
Maude) was born Wolf Martin Garber. When the current actor, born William Hall Macy Jr, came along he was billed as W H Macy from 1978 to the early '90s.
Ramon Estevez goes by Martin Sheen. His son Carlos goes by Charlie Sheen, but son Emilio and daughter Renee kept the name Estevez.
Quote from: GenExpwy on December 01, 2021, 05:44:35 AM
Quote from: catch22 on November 30, 2021, 02:21:34 PM
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AM
David Bowie was born David Jones, but changed his last name to Bowie because there already was a Davy Jones who played in the Monkees.
Two more examples of using a stage name to avoid confusion with an existing actor and/or the SAG:
Michael Keaton, real name Michael Douglas
old-time actor Stewart Granger, real name James Stewart
An odd twist on this: Bill Macy (famous for the 1970s sitcom Maude) was born Wolf Martin Garber. When the current actor, born William Hall Macy Jr, came along he was billed as W H Macy from 1978 to the early '90s.
Here's the greatest peculiarity of all: The elder Frank Sinatra's given name was Francis Albert Sinatra, and I once believed that his son would have the exact same full name to be followed by Jr. But guess what? It wasn't so, because Frank Jr. was born as Francis Wayne Sinatra. So while it may have been the same first and last name as his father, the middle name was the one thing that kept him from becoming a true junior.
(Off-topic: I have the same first and last name as my father, but my middle name is Edwin, and his is Lee.)
Quote from: Henry on December 01, 2021, 10:50:32 AM
Quote from: GenExpwy on December 01, 2021, 05:44:35 AM
Quote from: catch22 on November 30, 2021, 02:21:34 PM
Quote from: Henry on November 30, 2021, 11:15:37 AM
David Bowie was born David Jones, but changed his last name to Bowie because there already was a Davy Jones who played in the Monkees.
Two more examples of using a stage name to avoid confusion with an existing actor and/or the SAG:
Michael Keaton, real name Michael Douglas
old-time actor Stewart Granger, real name James Stewart
An odd twist on this: Bill Macy (famous for the 1970s sitcom Maude) was born Wolf Martin Garber. When the current actor, born William Hall Macy Jr, came along he was billed as W H Macy from 1978 to the early '90s.
Here's the greatest peculiarity of all: The elder Frank Sinatra's given name was Francis Albert Sinatra, and I once believed that his son would have the exact same full name to be followed by Jr. But guess what? It wasn't so, because Frank Jr. was born as Francis Wayne Sinatra. So while it may have been the same first and last name as his father, the middle name was the one thing that kept him from becoming a true junior.
(Off-topic: I have the same first and last name as my father, but my middle name is Edwin, and his is Lee.)
Same with me. My dad and I have the same first name, but different middle names. He wanted my middle name to be my first name, and my mom wanted me to be a Jr. so they compromised.
My grandfather's name was Johannes Cornelius; he went by John.
My dad's name was John (no middle name); he went by John Jr.
Quote from: 1995hoo on November 30, 2021, 03:33:53 PM
The one I've always found kind of cool is that Neil Diamond is NOT a stage name–it's his real name.
On that subject, but kinda diverging, something I have always found interesting was celebrities that go by a single name which is a slightly unusual name, but that name is their birth name.
Prince is Prince Rogers Nelson and Madonna is Madonna Louise Ciccone. I thought foe the longest time they picked those names, but come to find out their parents did.