Lagamorpha Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke Maria Africa Gracia Vidal (or whatever it was) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo2 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Well almost - I like that Kim Novak wouldn't let them change her last name. I could understand her being ok with changing her first - there was another well known Marilyn at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traceyk65 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Its interesting that back in the day stars changed their names to hide ethnicity or becasue their original names just sounded awful or boring, They don;t seem to do that as much anymore. Can you imagine a Mariska Hargitay, Ashton Kutcher, Jared Padalecki or Mila Kunis in the credits of any movie made in the Studio Era? Or Keanu Reaves? Or Arnold Schwarzenegger? Or Zach Galifianakis? Or...I could go on and on. And don;t get me started on baby names...ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Ava Gardner was a birth name. It doesn't sound like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lagamorpha Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Talllulah was real too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Her father, William Bankhead, was Speaker of the House. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorry_Driver Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 The 2 names you used as examples are Mary Astor and Maria Montez. I bet those stumped some people. Irene Dunne was born Irene Marie Dunn so she just added an e. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldbestar Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 The men seem to have left well enough alone. Unless I'm wrong Errol Flynn, James Stewart, Tyrone Power and Clark Gable all used their original names; first or middle with their last. It didn't seem to be an issue with them unless it was a really hard name to spell or pronounce or long. Today it doesn't seem to matter; actors have names-probably real-that would never have passed muster with the old studio heads. I had one, partly based on my surname but with a different first one, I would have insisted on had I made it out there. It ensured I'd no longer be teased by being compared with Cecil from *Beany and Cecil* - don't ask why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lagamorpha Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 *James Stewart* but not the one in Destry Rides Again. The James Stewart who was married to Jean Simmons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorry_Driver Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 >James Stewart but not the one in Destry Rides Again. The James Stewart who was married to Jean Simmons. But James Stewart did not use his birth name. He used the name Stewart Granger. I thought the thread was about actors using their birth names, not about actors not using their birth names. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lagamorpha Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Yeah this thread is stating the birth name of an actor who changed his or her name for entertainment purposes. Sorry for the confusion. I used "birth name" instead of "real name" because some actors legally changed their names. *Laszlo Lowenstein*, *Kornel Weisz* and *Emanuel Goldenberg* are a few favorites. And is this for real? *Paul Georg Julius Freiherr von Hernried Ritter von Wassel-Waldingau* He'd give Maria Montez a run for her money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldbestar Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 But James Stewart did not use his birth name. He used the name Stewart Granger. I thought the thread was about actors using their birth names, not about actors not using their birth names. LOL Let's call this a draw. The gentleman did use his birth name in Brittian but when he came to Hollywood another James Stewart-also a "really" -had already made his mark so he used his last name and his mother's maiden one from then on. Also Bette Davis was born Ruth Elizabeth Davis but went by Bette as her mother had a similar name. Warners wanted to bill her as Bettina Dawes but she replied "I refuse to be called between the drawers all my life!" It's one battle Jack Warner didn't win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 They wanted to change Paul Newman's last name (he was born "Paul Newman") becuase it sounded too Jewish. He told them where they could go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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