People that wouldn't have been as successful if they had kept their original names

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Ernesto Guevara

― Shmool McShmool (shmuel), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:02 (twenty years ago)

Farookh Bulsara

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:06 (twenty years ago)

Reginald Dwight

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:09 (twenty years ago)

Chaim Witz

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:09 (twenty years ago)

Andrew Clutterbuck

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:09 (twenty years ago)

Mandy Rogers

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:09 (twenty years ago)

Marion Morrison

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:11 (twenty years ago)

Albert Einstein

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:11 (twenty years ago)

Tracy wossname

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:11 (twenty years ago)

Betty Joan Perske

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:12 (twenty years ago)

Vincent Furnier

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:13 (twenty years ago)

Leslie Hornby

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:15 (twenty years ago)

Karol Wojtyla

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:19 (twenty years ago)

Robert Zimmerman

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:20 (twenty years ago)

David Johansen

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:21 (twenty years ago)

http://www.celebrityalmanac.com/real.shtml

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:22 (twenty years ago)

David Bowie -- David Robert Hayward-Jones

yeah... that'd a been a shame.

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:23 (twenty years ago)

Steveland Judkins [!!!]

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:29 (twenty years ago)

Winona Horowitz

― GayLussac, Tuesday, 1 March 2005 08:53 (twenty years ago)

"Paul Michael Levesque" aka Triple H

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 09:30 (twenty years ago)

Tracy Morrow (Ice-T)
Archibald Leach (Cary Grant)

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 09:33 (twenty years ago)

By the way Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas! I guess it's clear why he changed it...

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 09:35 (twenty years ago)

"Paul Michael Levesque" aka Triple H

Actually, it's Jean Paul Levesque.
There are enough wrestling examples to keep this thread occupied for another week.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 09:38 (twenty years ago)

Archibald Leach is the name of John Cleese's lawyer character in A Fish Called Wanda iirc. I had no idea it works on so many levels!!!!

― the buttocks of science (beanz), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 09:49 (twenty years ago)

Ralphy Lipschitz (sp?)

― Sasha (sgh), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 09:58 (twenty years ago)

Archibald Leach is the name of John Cleese's lawyer character in A Fish Called Wanda iirc. I had no idea it works on so many levels!!!!

Yes, you're correct. Cary Grant's real name is a running joke in his films, by the way: you can see it carved on a tombstone in Arsenic and Old Lace, and it is also mentioned, for example, in His Girl Friday.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 10:04 (twenty years ago)

Norma Jean Doherty

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 10:08 (twenty years ago)

Jim Moir

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 10:19 (twenty years ago)

Marion Morrison

True story: my grandfather, John Edwin Corrigan, went out to LA to make his way as a potential movie star just after he finished high school. His father was very unhappy about this. He shared a flat with Marion one summer when both were working as extras in films. When Marion got his break, he needed a better name, so my grandpa (who knew he wouldn't himself make it, or had grown bored of the idea) offered *his* name to his buddy Marion and started calling himself Jack instead.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 10:25 (twenty years ago)

Adolf Schicklgruber

― Charles Dexter (Holey), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 10:32 (twenty years ago)

Diana Fluck

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:31 (twenty years ago)

Shirley Crabtree

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:35 (twenty years ago)

We like you, we like you... but the name, oy!, lose it, it's too Jewish...

Nathan Birnbaum (George Burns)
Jacob Cohen (Rodney Dangerfield)
Emanuel Goldenberg (Edward G. Robinson)
Elliot Goldstein (Elliot Gould)
Amos Jacob (Lee J. Cobb)
Daniel Kaminisky (Danny Kaye)
Melvin Kaminsky (Mel Brooks)
Stewart Allen Konigsberg (Woody Allen)
Benjamin Kubelsky (Jack Benny)
Joseph Levitch (Jerry Lewis )
Ivo Levy (Yves Montand)
Lazlo Lowenstein (Peter Lorre)
Borge Rosenbaum (Victor Borge)
Bernard Schwartz (Tony Curtis)

.... and others too numerous to mention

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:42 (twenty years ago)

Tom Pickupfags

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:43 (twenty years ago)

Paul Hewson

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:44 (twenty years ago)

I'm sorta curious about how someone arrives at the name "Rodney Dangerfield" via Jacob Cohen.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:49 (twenty years ago)

Buffalo Springfield was taken

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:51 (twenty years ago)

Stanley Martin Lieber

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 12:58 (twenty years ago)

Maurice Micklewhite
Greta Lovisa Gustafsson

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 13:22 (twenty years ago)

McKinley Morganfield
Chester Arthur Burnett

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 13:35 (twenty years ago)

Don Vliet

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

**David Johansen**

John Genzale, Jr.
Sylvain Mizrahi
Douglas Colvin
Jeffrey Hyman
John Cummings
Steven Tallarico

what was Johansen's given name? (xpost)

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

Wayne Kambes
Dennis Tomacek
Rob Derminer
James Osterberg

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

Declan McManus (Elvis Costello)

― 57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 14:06 (twenty years ago)

natalie hershlag

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

Mark Vincent is RIDDICK

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

Ice Cube's real name is O'Shea Jackson! That's a fucking great name!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

John Ramistella
George Ivan Morrison
Naomi Cohen

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

Naomi Cohen = Mama Cass, innit?

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

Beck HANSEN

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

xpost:
right you are.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

We like you, we like you... but the name, oy!, lose it, it's too Jewish...

Lev Bronstein

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:44 (twenty years ago)

Hugo Bossbinder

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)

Arnold Isaacs

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:49 (twenty years ago)

Issur Danielovitch Demsky

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:51 (twenty years ago)

Kal-L

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

Ha!

Albert Einstein. The comedian, not the scientist.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

Elgin Lumpkin
Robert van Winkle

― Richard C (avoid80), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Arnold "Gerry" Dorsey

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

Gordon Shumway

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

That Vanilla Ice called himself that and didn't capitalize on his "van Winkle" moniker is the biggest shame of all.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

You may notice that V.I. has never really been big on shame.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:20 (twenty years ago)

Thomas Mapother in Minority Report

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

Chevy Chase's real name - Cornelius Crane Chase - is a really awesome name. I'm pretty sure he would have been more successful if he kept it.

― spaces are allowed (spaces are allowed), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

... he was already too successful as it is

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

Malcolm Little

― kelsey (kelstarry), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:46 (twenty years ago)

It was snobby of me not to lists both names.

(McKinley Morganfield) Muddy Waters
(Chester Arthur Burnett) Howlin Wolf
(John Genzale, Jr.) Johnny Thunders -NY Dolls
(Sylvain Mizrahi) Sylvain Sylvain -NY Dolls
(Douglas Colvin) Dee Dee Ramone
(Jeffrey Hyman) Joey Ramone
(John Cummings) Johnny Ramone
(Steven Tallarico) Steven Tyler-Aerosmith
(Wayne Kambes) Wayne Kramer-MC5
(Dennis Tomacek) Dennis Thompson-MC5
(Rob Derminer) Rob Tyner-MC5
(James Osterberg) Iggy Pop

I always found the MC5 name changes interesting, midwest ethic -to- generic American.

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:46 (twenty years ago)

midwest ethNic!

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 16:48 (twenty years ago)

We like you, we like you... but the name, oy!, lose it, it's too Jewish...
Lev Bronstein

I think I'm related to him. How many Bronsteins do you think there were in Odessa circa 1900?

Jon Lebowitz

― Shmool McShmool (shmuel), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 03:21 (twenty years ago)

We like you, we like you... but the name, oy!, lose it, it's too Jewish...

Natalie Herschlogg -> Natalie Portman

― dorothy, Wednesday, 2 March 2005 07:56 (twenty years ago)

NED RAGGETT

― green uno skip card (ex machina), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 08:20 (twenty years ago)

John Cheese

― elwisty (elwisty), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

Iosif Djugashvili

― fcussen (Burger), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:19 (twenty years ago)

David and Steve Batt (David Sylvian and Steve Jansen)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:35 (twenty years ago)

Yhwh

― Huk-L, Thursday, 3 March 2005 01:43 (twenty years ago)

heh. It would make "WWJD" somewhat confusing.

"WWYD? What would I do? Eh? Im asking you dammit!"

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 3 March 2005 02:07 (twenty years ago)

carly fiorina's real name is carleton!

― youn, Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:13 (twenty years ago)

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