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Real names of classic TV stars

B

bpatrick

Somebody started a thread on characters with
one name. That got me to thinking about TV
personalities and performers who changed their
names; in many cases because their real names
were too ethnic in an era when ethnic groups
were not as tolerated as they are today. Then
some, like Bob Hope, didn't like the sound of
their names; his real name was Leslie, which he
thought too girlish-sounding. So, a few that
come to mind:

Jack Benny: Benjamin Kubelsky
George Burns: Nathan Birnbaum
Bob Hope: Leslie Townes Hope
Danny Kaye: Daniel David Kaminsky
Milton Berle: Milton Berlinger
Jerry Lewis: Joseph Levitch
Dean Martin: Dino Crocetti
Perry Como: Pietro Como
Dinah Shore: Frances Rose Shore
Mike Wallace: Myron Wallach
Bert Parks: Bert Jacobson
Mike Connors: Krekor Ohanian
Adam West: William West Anderson
James Garner: James Bumgarner
Eddie Albert: Edward Albert Heimberger
Flip Wilson: Clerow Wilson
Danny Thomas: Amos Jacobs, although he
had a Lebanese name which I can't spell
Jamie Farr: Jameel Farksh (I think that's right)
Ted Mack: William Edward Maguinness
Art Linkletter: Arthur Gordon Kelley (he was
adopted by a family named Linkletter)
Dennis James: Demi James Sposa
Art James: Artur Simeonovich Efimchik
Peter Marshall: Pierre LaCock
Art Fleming: Arthur Fazzin
Mike Douglas: Michael Delaney Dowd
Redd Foxx: John Sanford (yes!)
George DeWitt (host of the original Name That
Tune): George Florentine
Tom Kennedy: Jim Narz (Jack's brother)
James Arness and Peter Graves: they're brothers,
last name Aurness
Edie Adams: Elizabeth Edith Enke
Alan Alda: Alphonso D'Abruzzo
Jason Alexander: Jay Greenspan
Fred Allen: John Sullivan
Eve Arden: Eunice Quedens
Gene Barry: Eugene Klass
Orson Bean: Dallas Burrows
Joey Bishop: Joseph Gottlieb
Red Buttons: Aaron Chwatt
Howard Cosell: Howard Cohen
Doris Day: Doris von Kappelhoff
Yvonne DeCarlo: Peggy Middleton
Danny DeVito: Daniel Michaeli
Angie Dickinson: Angeline Brown
Phyllis Diller: Phyllis Driver (Diller
was first husband Sherwood Diller, whom
she referred to as "Fang")
Barbara Eden: Barbara Huffman
Ron Ely: Ronald Pierce
Chad Everett: Raymond Cramton
Dale Evans: Frances Smith
John Forsythe: John Freund
Tony Franciosa: Anthony Papaleo
Arlene Francis: Arlene Kazanjian
Kathie Lee Gifford: Kathie Epstein
Robert Guillaume: Robert Williams
Pee Wee Herman: Paul Reubenfeld
David Janssen: David Meyer
Don Johnson: Donald Wayne
Larry King: Larry Ziegler
Ted Knight: Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka
Cheryl Ladd: Cheryl Stoppelmoor (she
married Alan Ladd's son David)
Michael Landon: Eugene Orowitz
Hal Linden: Harold Lipshitz
Jack Lord: John Joseph Ryan
Lee Majors: Harvey Lee Yeary II
Garry Moore: Thomas Garrison Morfit
Harry Morgan: Harry Bratsburg
Mr. T: Lawrence Tero
Jack Palance: Walter Palanuik
Tony Randall: Leonard Rosenberg
Donna Reed: Donna Belle Mullenger
Roy Rogers: Leonard Slye
Soupy Sales: Milton Supman (sometimes given
as Milton Hines)
Phil Silvers: Philip Silversmith
Buffalo Bob Smith: Robert Schmidt
Suzanne Somers: Suzanne Mahoney
Ann Sothern: Harriette Lake
Robert Stack: Robert Modini
Barbara Stanwyck: Ruby Stevens
Jean Stapleton: Jeanne Murray
George Reeves: George Keefer Brewer (later
adopted and became George Bessolo)
Kitty Carlisle: Katherine Conn

None of this is meant to sound insensitive, but
to point out how our attitudes about ethnic groups
have changed.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 09/09/05 10:26 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> Somebody started a thread on characters with
> one name. That got me to thinking about TV
> personalities and performers who changed their
> names; in many cases because their real names
> were too ethnic in an era when ethnic groups
> were not as tolerated as they are today. Then
> some, like Bob Hope, didn't like the sound of
> their names; his real name was Leslie, which he
> thought too girlish-sounding. So, a few that
> come to mind:
>
> Jack Benny: Benjamin Kubelsky
> George Burns: Nathan Birnbaum
> Bob Hope: Leslie Townes Hope
> Danny Kaye: Daniel David Kaminsky
> Milton Berle: Milton Berlinger
> Jerry Lewis: Joseph Levitch
> Dean Martin: Dino Crocetti
> Perry Como: Pietro Como
> Dinah Shore: Frances Rose Shore
> Mike Wallace: Myron Wallach
> Bert Parks: Bert Jacobson
> Mike Connors: Krekor Ohanian
> Adam West: William West Anderson
> James Garner: James Bumgarner
> Eddie Albert: Edward Albert Heimberger
> Flip Wilson: Clerow Wilson
> Danny Thomas: Amos Jacobs, although he
> had a Lebanese name which I can't spell
> Jamie Farr: Jameel Farksh (I think that's right)
> Ted Mack: William Edward Maguinness
> Art Linkletter: Arthur Gordon Kelley (he was
> adopted by a family named Linkletter)
> Dennis James: Demi James Sposa
> Art James: Artur Simeonovich Efimchik
> Peter Marshall: Pierre LaCock
> Art Fleming: Arthur Fazzin
> Mike Douglas: Michael Delaney Dowd
> Redd Foxx: John Sanford (yes!)
> George DeWitt (host of the original Name That
> Tune): George Florentine
> Tom Kennedy: Jim Narz (Jack's brother)
> James Arness and Peter Graves: they're brothers,
> last name Aurness
>
> None of this is meant to sound insensitive, but
> to point out how our attitudes about ethnic groups
> have changed.
>


Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name was too "girlish"!
 
> Somebody started a thread on characters with
> one name. That got me to thinking about TV
> personalities and performers who changed their
> names; in many cases because their real names
> were too ethnic in an era when ethnic groups
> were not as tolerated as they are today. Then
> some, like Bob Hope, didn't like the sound of
> their names; his real name was Leslie, which he
> thought too girlish-sounding. So, a few that
> come to mind:
>
> Jack Benny: Benjamin Kubelsky
> George Burns: Nathan Birnbaum
> Bob Hope: Leslie Townes Hope
> Danny Kaye: Daniel David Kaminsky
> Milton Berle: Milton Berlinger
> Jerry Lewis: Joseph Levitch
> Dean Martin: Dino Crocetti
> Perry Como: Pietro Como
> Dinah Shore: Frances Rose Shore
> Mike Wallace: Myron Wallach
> Bert Parks: Bert Jacobson
> Mike Connors: Krekor Ohanian
> Adam West: William West Anderson
> James Garner: James Bumgarner
> Eddie Albert: Edward Albert Heimberger
> Flip Wilson: Clerow Wilson
> Danny Thomas: Amos Jacobs, although he
> had a Lebanese name which I can't spell
> Jamie Farr: Jameel Farksh (I think that's right)
> Ted Mack: William Edward Maguinness
> Art Linkletter: Arthur Gordon Kelley (he was
> adopted by a family named Linkletter)
> Dennis James: Demi James Sposa
> Art James: Artur Simeonovich Efimchik
> Peter Marshall: Pierre LaCock
> Art Fleming: Arthur Fazzin
> Mike Douglas: Michael Delaney Dowd
> Redd Foxx: John Sanford (yes!)
> George DeWitt (host of the original Name That
> Tune): George Florentine
> Tom Kennedy: Jim Narz (Jack's brother)
> James Arness and Peter Graves: they're brothers,
> last name Aurness
>
> None of this is meant to sound insensitive, but
> to point out how our attitudes about ethnic groups
> have changed.
>
You add the legendary Howard brothers...
Moe Howard: Moses Horowitz
Curly Howard: Jerome Horowitz
Shemp Howard: Samuel Horowitz
Plus, Larry Fine: Louis Fienberg

Here's some others...
Jamie Foxx: Eric Bishop
Albert Brooks: Albert Einstein (no joke)
John Wayne: Marion Morrison
Don Adams: Donald James Yarmy
Tin Allen: Timothy Allen Dick
Jason Alexander: Jason Scott Greenspan
Beatrice Arthur: Bernice Frankel
Mary Hart: Mary Johanna Harum
Michael Keaton: Michael John Douglas
Ted Knight: Thaddeus Wladyslaw Konopka
Patti LaBelle: Patricia Louise Holt
Michael Landon: Eugene Horowitz
Bernie Mac: Bernard McCollough (his real name was mentioned once on an epsiode of his show)

I'll leave it to everyone else for more...
 
> Danny Thomas: Amos Jacobs, although he
> had a Lebanese name which I can't spell

Its Muzyad Yakhoob or so a few web sites say.
As for his daughter:
Marlo Thomas: Margaret Julia Thomas

> Jamie Farr: Jameel Farksh (I think that's right)

Again a bit of web searching finds it to be Jameel Joseph Farah.
Intresting fun fact is that he was the only MASH cast member to serve in the military during the Korean war, but he was stationed in Japan.

<P ID="signature">______________
WCBS = We're Crazy Buffoons and Schmucks
<a href=http://chuck.spotteddogs.org/tv/>Spotted Dog TV Talk - for all your non-news TV Talk</a></P>
 
> > Somebody started a thread on characters with
> > one name. That got me to thinking about TV
> > personalities and performers who changed their
> > names; in many cases because their real names
> > were too ethnic in an era when ethnic groups
> > were not as tolerated as they are today. Then
> > some, like Bob Hope, didn't like the sound of
> > their names; his real name was Leslie, which he
> > thought too girlish-sounding. So, a few that
> > come to mind:
> >
> > Jack Benny: Benjamin Kubelsky
> > George Burns: Nathan Birnbaum
> > Bob Hope: Leslie Townes Hope
> > Danny Kaye: Daniel David Kaminsky
> > Milton Berle: Milton Berlinger
> > Jerry Lewis: Joseph Levitch
> > Dean Martin: Dino Crocetti
> > Perry Como: Pietro Como
> > Dinah Shore: Frances Rose Shore
> > Mike Wallace: Myron Wallach
> > Bert Parks: Bert Jacobson
> > Mike Connors: Krekor Ohanian
> > Adam West: William West Anderson
> > James Garner: James Bumgarner
> > Eddie Albert: Edward Albert Heimberger
> > Flip Wilson: Clerow Wilson
> > Danny Thomas: Amos Jacobs, although he
> > had a Lebanese name which I can't spell
> > Jamie Farr: Jameel Farksh (I think that's right)
> > Ted Mack: William Edward Maguinness
> > Art Linkletter: Arthur Gordon Kelley (he was
> > adopted by a family named Linkletter)
> > Dennis James: Demi James Sposa
> > Art James: Artur Simeonovich Efimchik
> > Peter Marshall: Pierre LaCock
> > Art Fleming: Arthur Fazzin
> > Mike Douglas: Michael Delaney Dowd
> > Redd Foxx: John Sanford (yes!)
> > George DeWitt (host of the original Name That
> > Tune): George Florentine
> > Tom Kennedy: Jim Narz (Jack's brother)
> > James Arness and Peter Graves: they're brothers,
> > last name Aurness
> >
> > None of this is meant to sound insensitive, but
> > to point out how our attitudes about ethnic groups
> > have changed.
> >
> You add the legendary Howard brothers...
> Moe Howard: Moses Horowitz
> Curly Howard: Jerome Horowitz
> Shemp Howard: Samuel Horowitz
> Plus, Larry Fine: Louis Fienberg
>
> Here's some others...
> Jamie Foxx: Eric Bishop
> Albert Brooks: Albert Einstein (no joke)
> John Wayne: Marion Morrison
> Don Adams: Donald James Yarmy
> Tin Allen: Timothy Allen Dick
> Jason Alexander: Jason Scott Greenspan
> Beatrice Arthur: Bernice Frankel
> Mary Hart: Mary Johanna Harum
> Michael Keaton: Michael John Douglas
> Ted Knight: Thaddeus Wladyslaw Konopka
> Patti LaBelle: Patricia Louise Holt
> Michael Landon: Eugene Horowitz
> Bernie Mac: Bernard McCollough (his real name was mentioned
> once on an epsiode of his show)
>
> I'll leave it to everyone else for more...
>
Martin Sheen-Martin Estevez(Emillio kept the real family name and Charlie adopted dad's stage last name)
Doc Severinsen-Carl Severinsen<P ID="signature">______________
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of the Sith</P>
 
> > Danny Thomas: Amos Jacobs, although he
> > had a Lebanese name which I can't spell
>
> Its Muzyad Yakhoob or so a few web sites say.
> As for his daughter:
> Marlo Thomas: Margaret Julia Thomas
>
> > Jamie Farr: Jameel Farksh (I think that's right)
>
> Again a bit of web searching finds it to be Jameel Joseph
> Farah.
> Intresting fun fact is that he was the only MASH cast member
> to serve in the military during the Korean war, but he was
> stationed in Japan.
>
You're right on all three counts. BTW, Danny Thomas and
Jamie Farr both hail from Toledo, where there must have
been a sizable Lebanese community (maybe still is), since
both are of Lebanese descent. (I know, Danny's no longer
with us, but since he is one of television's immortals, why
not use the present tense?)
 
> > Somebody started a thread on characters with
> > one name. That got me to thinking about TV
> > personalities and performers who changed their
> > names; in many cases because their real names
> > were too ethnic in an era when ethnic groups
> > were not as tolerated as they are today. Then
> > some, like Bob Hope, didn't like the sound of
> > their names; his real name was Leslie, which he
> > thought too girlish-sounding. So, a few that
> > come to mind:
> >
> > Jack Benny: Benjamin Kubelsky
> > George Burns: Nathan Birnbaum
> > Bob Hope: Leslie Townes Hope
> > Danny Kaye: Daniel David Kaminsky
> > Milton Berle: Milton Berlinger
> > Jerry Lewis: Joseph Levitch
> > Dean Martin: Dino Crocetti
> > Perry Como: Pietro Como
> > Dinah Shore: Frances Rose Shore
> > Mike Wallace: Myron Wallach
> > Bert Parks: Bert Jacobson
> > Mike Connors: Krekor Ohanian
> > Adam West: William West Anderson
> > James Garner: James Bumgarner
> > Eddie Albert: Edward Albert Heimberger
> > Flip Wilson: Clerow Wilson
> > Danny Thomas: Amos Jacobs, although he
> > had a Lebanese name which I can't spell
> > Jamie Farr: Jameel Farksh (I think that's right)
> > Ted Mack: William Edward Maguinness
> > Art Linkletter: Arthur Gordon Kelley (he was
> > adopted by a family named Linkletter)
> > Dennis James: Demi James Sposa
> > Art James: Artur Simeonovich Efimchik
> > Peter Marshall: Pierre LaCock
> > Art Fleming: Arthur Fazzin
> > Mike Douglas: Michael Delaney Dowd
> > Redd Foxx: John Sanford (yes!)
> > George DeWitt (host of the original Name That
> > Tune): George Florentine
> > Tom Kennedy: Jim Narz (Jack's brother)
> > James Arness and Peter Graves: they're brothers,
> > last name Aurness
> >
> > None of this is meant to sound insensitive, but
> > to point out how our attitudes about ethnic groups
> > have changed.
> >
>
>
> Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name was too
> "girlish"!
>
Here's some more real names of famous people:


Gene Rayburn: Eugene Rabessa
Allen Ludden: Allen Ellsworth
Wink Martindale: Winston Conrad Martindale
Richard Dawson:Colin Emm
Monty Hall:Maurice Halprin
Bud Collyer: Clayton Heermance,Jr.
 
> Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name
> was too "girlish"!

Requesting permission to change your statement
to read as:

Surely, Leslie Nielsen didn't think his name
was too "girlish"!

;-)
 
> > Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name
> > was too "girlish"!
>
> Requesting permission to change your statement
> to read as:
>
> Surely, Leslie Nielsen didn't think his name
> was too "girlish"!
>
> ;-)

He didn't, and stop calling him Shirley.

That said, I just want to wish you good luck. We're all counting on you.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> > Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name
> > was too "girlish"!
>
> Requesting permission to change your statement
> to read as:
>
> Surely, Leslie Nielsen didn't think his name
> was too "girlish"!
>
> ;-)
>

LOL!!!! Airplane is one of my all-time favorite comedies!! That movie is a riot!<P ID="signature">______________
Put that thing away, please! You're scaring me!</P>
 
Maybe attitudes have changed, but performers still adopt professional names:
Easier to pronounce/spell.
Easier to remember.
Consistent with a desired image.
Somebody else has the same or similar name. (Example: Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas but that name was taken. Michael Douglas' real name is Danielovitch; his old man is Issur Danielovitch.) This is a union rule. William Boyd was a leading actor in silent pictures and has his career derailed because of a scandal involving another William Boyd. He ended up making a series of B-Westerns playing Hopalong Cassidy.

>
> None of this is meant to sound insensitive, but
> to point out how our attitudes about ethnic groups
> have changed.
>
 
> Maybe attitudes have changed, but performers still adopt
> professional names:
> Easier to pronounce/spell.
> Easier to remember.
> Consistent with a desired image.
> Somebody else has the same or similar name. (Example:
> Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas but that name
> was taken. Michael Douglas' real name is Danielovitch; his
> old man is Issur Danielovitch.) This is a union rule.
> William Boyd was a leading actor in silent pictures and has
> his career derailed because of a scandal involving another
> William Boyd. He ended up making a series of B-Westerns
> playing Hopalong Cassidy.
>
> >
> > None of this is meant to sound insensitive, but
> > to point out how our attitudes about ethnic groups
> > have changed.
> >
>
Likewise, Stewart Granger changed his name from James Stewart.
And don't forget that John Wayne's real name was Marion Michael
Morrison; apparently some studio decided that was too effeminate
for his macho image.

Another name which just came to mind and which had nothing really
to do with your post but has everything to do with this thread:
Marvin Miller (The Millionaire): Marvin Mueller<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 09/10/05 02:11 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> You add the legendary Howard brothers...
> Moe Howard: Moses Horowitz
> Curly Howard: Jerome Horowitz
> Shemp Howard: Samuel Horowitz
> Plus, Larry Fine: Louis Fienberg

Curly Joe DeRita: Joseph Wardell

Joe Besser was the only Stooge to use his birth name, although Moe, Curly, and Shemp changed theirs legally from Horowitz to Howard sometime in the 1940s. Not sure if Larry ever changed his name legally.

Some others, including 2 former Presidents:
Harry Caray: Harold Carabina Jr.
Paul Harvey: Paul Harvey Aurandt
Dan Patrick: Daniel Pugh
Gerald Ford: Leslie King Jr.
Bill Clinton: William Jefferson Blythe IV<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Keith Elster on 09/10/05 05:21 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> > Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name
> > was too "girlish"!
>
> Requesting permission to change your statement
> to read as:
>
> Surely, Leslie Nielsen didn't think his name
> was too "girlish"!
>
> ;-)
>
"Don't call me Shirley." LOL!<P ID="signature">______________
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of the Sith</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by MegoMan on 09/11/05 02:30 AM.</FONT></P>
 
> > > Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name
> > > was too "girlish"!
> >
> > Requesting permission to change your statement
> > to read as:
> >
> > Surely, Leslie Nielsen didn't think his name
> > was too "girlish"!
> >
> > ;-)
> >
> "Don't call me Shirley." LOL!

Didn't I already post that quote ... about 24 hours before you did?

*sigh*

No one reads entire threads before posting anymore.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> > > > Leslie Nielsen obviously didn't think his name
> > > > was too "girlish"!
> > >
> > > Requesting permission to change your statement
> > > to read as:
> > >
> > > Surely, Leslie Nielsen didn't think his name
> > > was too "girlish"!
> > >
> > > ;-)
> > >
> > "Don't call me Shirley." LOL!
>
> Didn't I already post that quote ... about 24 hours before
> you did?
>
> *sigh*
>
> No one reads entire threads before posting anymore.
>
Sorry 'bout that.<P ID="signature">______________
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of the Sith</P>
 
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