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Famous names confer mixed blessings
Whats in a name? UDs own James Brown, a campus custodian, says his famous moniker got him into a star-studded casino show. Howard Johnson never stayed at a Howard Johnson UDs Howard Johnson, professor of black American studies, said his parents knew they were giving him a famous name, but not the one youd think. I was born in Jamaica. Of course, my poor parents would not have had any reference to the name Howard Johnson at all. My middle name is Delano, named for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. When Johnson came to the U.S. in 1972, he noted the ubiquitous orange-roofed Howard Johnsons with 28 flavors of ice cream. His famous name became a conversational gambit in the U.S. I always say, I wish I had his millions. UDs Howard Johnson said. Hes never actually stayed in a Howard Johnson motel, but he said he likes their fried clams. Ashley Olsen on campusBut no Mary Kate When UDs Ashley Olsen was a high school freshman, her friends told everyone she was a second cousin to the Olsen twins of TV sitcom Full House fame, and the whole school believed it. Now Olsen is a college freshman, and the celebrity Olsen twins fans have stretched from Nick at Nite nostalgia buffs to those who are closely following the duos careers as they become adults. I know that theyre now admired by people young and old, UDs Olsen said. Somehow they seemed to grow up so much faster than I did. Bob Barkernever won anything Bob Barker, director of UDs MBA program, still remembers shocking his friends moms when, at age 12 or 13, he called their homes and said, This is Bob Barker calling. The name was so prominent to radio listeners that the mother would answer the phone and she would go ballistic, Barker recalled. Bob Barker, now famous for hosting TVs Price Is Right, then hosted a radio show where hed phone homes and ask whoever answered to match wits with a person in the studio to win prizes. Decades later, UDs Barker still has a recognizable name because Hollywoods Barker is host of the longest-running game show in television history. He has been in show business so long that the sound stage where Elvis Presley first appeared with Ed Sullivan is named in Barkers honor. When a receptionist at Comcast recently phoned an office to say that Bob Barker was getting on the elevator and would be arriving soon, a large group of employees gathered near the elevator to get a look at him. Barker has been told to come on down so many times that now he turns the tables. People cant resist saying it, he said. So, I often will beat them to it. Theyre disappointed because they want to say it. Despite his Hollywood counterparts predilection for giving away prizes, Barker said hes never won anythingnot a sweepstakes, a contest or even a door prize. Edwards still running here in Delaware UD's Jon Edwards does his running on the tennis courts. The sophomore engineering student hails from Maryland, not North Carolina as the presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. John Edwards. His famous name has still garnered attention this year though. When tennis team captain Ari Zweig introduced the UD lineup at matches, hed refer to Edwards and his doubles partner Philip Wayne as "Jon Edwards and his running mate, Philip Wayne.'' "Also, I've been introduced as Jon Edwards, and if you like his volleys, wait until you hear about his health-care plan, Edwards said. James Dean drives an SUV Hollywoods James Dean became a legend when he died driving his Porsche Spyder with Elizabeth Taylors phone number in his little black book. Having the legends name was a plus for James Dean Jr., now a UD English professor, when he was a teenager, but later it turned into a minus for the author whose titles include Medieval English Political Writings. To be taken seriously, he added his middle initial to his papers and became James M. Dean. Particularly in scholarly or academic circles, they assume you cant be a serious scholar if you have a name like that, he said.
In junior high, it attracted girls who were just hoping that somehow I would be like the actor, which, of course, I wasnt at all, he said, laughing. I tried to affect a brooding look. In high school, he ran for class treasurer with the slogan Rebel With a Cause. He won. He probably got the vote of his best friend, Tom Jones. No kidding. Dean said his famous name has always gotten noticewhether hes applying for a loan or buying a new car. He actually has two famous names. Which one people recognize first tells him where they are coming from faster than a GPS device. Deans name is one-part James Dean, ill-fated actor, and one-part Jimmy Dean, pure pork sausage salesman. People rarely notice both. My name can go two ways, he said. It almost divides along class lines. The people who know Jimmy Dean, the folksinger, and his pure pork sausages, theyll say, Jimmy Dean! Hey, Jimmy Dean. And theyll give me a southern accent with that. But others, including modern-day students, they know James Dean, the actor. The people who know Jimmy Dean dont know James Dean, and the people who know James Dean dont know Jimmy Dean, he said. For the record, he has seen a James Dean movie, but hes never tried a Jimmy Dean sausage. His sons are Will and Matt, no Jameses. Dean drives a Subaru Forester, not a Porsche. But, he said he wants to drive a Miata. Names the same as 80s starlet UDs Heather Thomas had never even heard of the Hollywoods Heather Thomas until a junior high substitute teacher asked her if anyone ever teased her about her name. Hollywoods Thomas was voted US Magazines favorite female newcomer in 1982 a year before UDs Thomas was born. I dont think people in my age group really know who she was, the history major said. Casino welcomes James Browns faux grandson to star gala UD custodian James J. Brown III grimaced when he saw soul singer James Browns picture pop up in the newspaper after the musician was arrested on domestic violence charges in January. The other James Brown has a habit of getting arrested, UDs Brown said. When they showed him on the news with his hair all wrecked and in his pajamas or something, I thought, Oh boy. Here we go again. Brown doesnt protest too much about the arrest hubbub because being mistaken for the grandson of the godfather of soul has opened doors for himliterally. I have done so many things because of this name, he said. I got into a VIP casino show in Atlantic City because they thought he was my grandfather. I guess we do sort of look alike in a sense. Not to be a joker or arrogant, but Im a fairly good-looking guy, and my demeanor helps. Because Im a well-spoken person, they thought he was my grandfather. I just used it, and it worked. He wound up sitting next to Della Reese. Brown said the fact that he shared a famous name didnt sink in until he reached junior high although his name is doubly famous. In addition to the singer-songwriter, he shares a moniker with running back turned Hollywood actor Jim Brown. One minute Id be the grandson of the godfather of soul, and the next minute Id be the offspring of Jim Brown, he said. When I played sports, Id be like Jim Brown, and when I was in a band, theyd announce, On rhythm guitar, Mr. James Brown and everybodyd say Like whattt? At his first job after community college in a K-Mart warehouse, Brown said he was an instant hit because his supervisors liked calling his name over the warehouse public address system. To this day, I can call back to that warehouse and say my name and people remember me, he said. When The Gap was more than a clothing story John Dean, a campus classroom technology technician, fended off newspaper reporters back in 1973 when his namesake was at the center of the U.S. Senate Watergate hearings.
Like the real Watergate principals, UDs Dean said he usually had no comment. Edward Norton doesnt go to Edward Norton movies UDs Ed Norton works full-time, attends school, commutes and has a family, so he doesnt see his namesakes movies unless theyre on video or TV. He said he doesnt get too much reaction to either of his namesakesthe Ed Norton character comic Art Carney played on TVs classic Honeymooners or the current thriller hero by the same name. I remember a newspaper picture with Edward Norton and Ben Affleck playing cards in Monte Carlo around the time he was dating Courtney Love. A friend cut out a picture of me and put it in the paper as if it were me playing cards, Norton said. James Baldwin writing computer code James Baldwin, a computer programmer enrolled in continuing education courses at the University, goes by Jim, so people usually comment on his famous literary name only when he fills out official documents. He said the folks at the department of motor vehicles never fail to notice. Throughout my life, many people have commented on it, he said. Im white and, you know, James Baldwin the author was black. I think some people kind of find that amusing. UDs Baldwin recommends the other Baldwins books. Rick James abandons rock amps for library quiet zone Richard James says his contemporaries arent familiar with 80s pop culture so they dont think of him as Rick James, the hard-living 80s songwriter whose wedding was postponed when his bride-to-be was arrested on shoplifting charges. I think that the infamous Rick James is now sufficiently obscure that name recognition isnt a problem, UDs James said. While there is the occasional Superfreak comment aimed my way, its not like my name is Saddam or anything like that. Joe Kennedy encounters international goodwill UDs Joe Kennedy, aptly an international relations major, said most people dont link him with President John F. Kennedys famous father, who died in 1969. A notable exception was his visit to an Irish pub where the locals perked up when they heard the Kennedy family patriarchs name. People were like, Wow. Joe Kennedy. Joe Kennedy. Oh, Kennedy, let me buy you a pint. It was awesome, he recalled. Mary Martin played in South Pacific UDs Mary Martin appeared in Rodgers and Hammersteins musical South Pacificbut it was on a high school stage in Indiana. Martin, UDs assistant provost for graduate studies, was Mary Struve then. Martin is her married name. When she married, she didnt anticipate the flood of recognition shed get from sharing a name with the late Mary Martin, who starred in such Broadway musicals as South Pacific, Peter Pan and The Sound of Music, was the real-life mother of Larry Hagman, who played bad guy J.R. Ewing on the 80s prime-time soap Dallas. Every day that someone calls me whom Ive never spoken to before and I say my name is Mary Martin, before the conversation begins, they ask me about my name, Martin said. Its just all the time. Theyll kid me, Are you the real Mary Martin? It makes it really easy for me because people remember my name. When Dallas was in prime time, callers would ask her, Did you really raise J.R. to be the sort of guy he is? Martin said having a famous name has been fun and a great icebreaker. There was just one time when it tripped her upon her first day at UD in 1988. She went out to lunch with the person who hired her and met Bob Barker along the way. Then, later that afternoon, she met a woman named Betty White on campus. I thought, What kind of place have I come to, Martin said. Photos by Kathy Atkinson To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |