Actors With False Identities (or who keep their real lives secret)

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I thought his name was Larry 'Bud' Melman up until I just read your post! I use to watch Letterman all the time and just figured that was his name.
Sometimes I wonder why some of these people didn't just use their real names (or their stage names that they legally changed to their real names - since, for a lot of actors, the name they are famous for is not the one they were given at birth).

Why wasn't Larry "Bud" Melman just introduced as Calvert Deforest? (That's actually a rather catchy and unusual name - so it would have worked for a quirky and unusual character). And why give him the nickname of "Bud" when Larry Melman wasn't even a real name to begin with? (I guess giving a fake character a fake nickname just helps complete the illusion that he's real.)

Like I said with Super Dave Osborne - why did he need an alternate identity when he already had a cool-sounding name: "Super Bob Einstein"?



Sometimes I wonder why some of these people didn't just use their real names (or their stage names that they legally changed to their real names - since, for a lot of actors, the name they are famous for is not the one they were given at birth).
Good point, but Archibald Leach was never gonna work in Hollywood. Or anywhere else for that matter.
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Good point, but Archibald Leach was never gonna work in Hollywood. Or anywhere else for that matter.

It worked in A Fish Called Wanda (1988).
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Let me know if you think this fits:

The Marx Brothers.



(We wont be discussing Gummo or Zeppo - Milton & Hebert Manfred Marx - as they were lesser known and did not seem to have really established alter-egos like their brothers.)

I'm suggesting them because, although they made many movies, they always played the same characters in all the movies! And although the characters would have different names in each movie they were consistent alter-egos for the brothers throughout their careers.

Groucho (Julius Henry Marx 1890 - 1977) was an eccentric wise-cracker. He had the most extensive career and in his later years he broke character (which didn't seem too far off from his true personality) and let the world get to know him through movie & TV appearances & interviews. He hosted the popular radio and TV show You Bet Your Life.

Chico (Leonard Joseph Marx 1887 - 1961) created a character that was an Italian immigrant and much of his humor came from puns or mispronunciations of English words. Chico's main musical instrument was the piano which he also worked into many skits.

Harpo (Adolph Marx 1888 - 1964) probably fits this category best - it's said he never spoke in film or on TV except for the night he announced his retirement! For all intents and purposes, this pantomime harpist's true life (and voice) was a mystery to audiences.



Kiss



"The identities of Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, and Paul Stanley are now out, but in the 1970’s, they were The Demon, Space Ace, Catman, and Starchild, respectively. With elaborate black and white face paint, they constructed on-stage personas that allowed them to walk amongst their fans in broad daylight without getting swarmed, according to Allmusic.com."



I don't know if there were any other bands before KISS that tried the full face makeup gimmick, but if there were, they weren't nearly as successful.

We have to wonder if there was not some genius of forethought that went into KISS's on stage persona beyond just the obvious effect of spectacle... one which said, "If we do ever become successful, famous or super popular, the fact that we're hiding our true identities behind makeup will allow us to live totally normal social & private lives (unlike easily recognized celebrities) no matter how big we become! We'll be able to go anywhere and do anything as our normal selves without any disruption or attention while remaining completely anonymous."

And now a little mixing of genres as KISS meets J-POP in...
KISS vs. Momoiro Clover Z (Live action starts at 1:36)




TISM probably fits the bill then. From Wikipedia:

TISM (an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) were a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The group was formed on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun, and enjoyed a large underground/independent following. Their third album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995. TISM have never officially revealed their names, instead choosing to use pseudonyms on their records and in interviews, all the while concealing their faces. When asked why they wear masks, Flaubert replied:

"The answer that makes me sound good is that we desired to circumvent the cult of personality that is inherent in rock music by choosing to remain anonymous. The answer that makes me sound good would probably also incorporate some lengthy discussion about Brechtian alienation techniques, about our post modernist grasp of ever cooling universe, and a dehumanising society encapsulated in the somewhat paramilitary aspect of our clothing. All of those things would make me sound good, but actually we’re really boring guys."




Okay - since he's "in the news" lately, he'll be the excuse for this thread bump:

Borat / Bruno / Ali G./ General Aladeen / Sacha Baron Cohen



Another comedic chameleon (and master of disguise) - this controversial comic made a name for himself by making films where he has allegedly fooled the public into believing he is the fake characters he's pretending to be.

Some of the films are semi-documentary style and have an almost Candid Camera quality in that the people appearing in them (outside of Cohen's crew) are allegedly not in on the joke - and therefore believe the role the actor is playing to be a real person as opposed to a character.

What helps qualify Cohen for this topic is that for most of his early career, he avoided doing interviews out of character, thus perpetuating the farce that his characters were actual people.



Similar to the concept behind Borat was a TV mini-series called Almost Royal (2014-2016).
It was much more general-audience suited and benign than the often crude Borat or Bruno.
(Almost Royal was almost sweet in it's execution). It equally lampooned both British and American cultural sensibilities.



Two young actor / comedians posed as members of the British Royal family (distant cousins) touring the U.S. while being filmed for a documentary all along the way.
Ed Gamble and Amy Hoggart portrayed the aristocratic and terribly out-of-touch siblings Georgie and Poppy Carlton. (Poppy was just the cutest!)

The concept was that the real-life people they encountered did not know they were actors, but thought they were actual members of the British Royal family.
I was never very interested in the Royal family, but I am a fan of British comedy... I found the show extremely entertaining and often laugh-out-loud funny.



Joe Pera



He's on this list because no one knows much about him or what he's really like. All that is known is he's a stand-up comedian who has studied film and appeared in a few TV shows & a couple movies (usually shorts), and made a series of shows for "Adult Swim".

Like some others on this list, Joe doesn't seem to break character in interviews (unless his slow talking, somewhat backward, nerdishly awkward, backwoods philosophical, semi-intellectual persona is his true self).

I get the feeling Joe's persona is not his real self, but a character (possibly an amalgam of people he's known).

He seems like a Northern Exposure version of Mr. Rogers (meets Bob Ross meets "Chauncey Gardner") and seems to act much older than he is ("grandfatherly" is a commonly used adjective). He carries himself with round-shouldered posture which I believe is an assumed part of his character because he appears to be a very fit young man... and fit people usually have good posture.

Interesting thing about Joe and his "comedy" is he seems devoid of cynicism (unlike most comics) and the programs he makes, which usually focus on the most mundane of topics, have a weirdly relaxing quality to them.



Tim and Eric



Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim

I'm putting these guys here because they've both kept their real lives close to the vest.

Despite several odd TV series and a few movie appearances, no one knows much about them outside of their on-screen performances. (Even a story of Tim getting stabbed twice by a crazed attacker was viewed skeptically, with many fans wondering if the story was yet another aspect of performance art - allegedly, the story is true.)

Their comedy, characters, and alternate identities they've created are so surreal & experimental that no one is sure who these guys really are or what they're really like. Even stand-up comedy shows they've performed were done to be intentionally bad (leaving only their hard core fans seeming to be in on the joke - which most can't decipher).

Their show launched the fake character of Dr. Steve Brule for John C. Reilly (which Reilly denies playing).

Actors, comedians, musicians, stage personas, performance artists, stoners, movie stars, hoaxers, weirdos? All of the above? No one's quite sure.



Ernest P. Worrell



Comedian Jim Varney (1949 - 2000) wasn't exactly unknown when he created "Ernest" - he worked in stand-up and in comic roles on TV. We might say Varney was little known in 1980, while Ernest, created that same year, was another character that seemed to take on an entire life of his own.

Not that anyone assumed Ernest was anything more than a character, but he actually holds a very unique place in cinematic history - he started out as a character created just for local commercials, and then advanced to nationwide commercials. Soon, this bumpkin character was appearing as a guest on TV shows, then getting a slew of his own movies (5 feature-length and 4 direct-to-video) and children's TV series. Never before had a character created for local TV commercial spots risen to become a spokesperson for other products & companies, have their own TV guest spots, specials, television series and movie series!

I'm a bit reluctant to include him here, but based on his unique history and the fact that most people knew "Ernest" before they ever heard of Jim Varney grants him a special spot.



Ernest P. Worrell



Comedian Jim Varney (1949 - 2000) wasn't exactly unknown when he created "Ernest" - he worked in stand-up and in comic roles on TV. We might say Varney was little known in 1980, while Ernest, created that same year, was another character that seemed to take on an entire life of his own.

Not that anyone assumed Ernest was anything more than a character, but he actually holds a very unique place in cinematic history - he started out as a character created just for local commercials, and then advanced to nationwide commercials. Soon, this bumpkin character was appearing as a guest on TV shows, then getting a slew of his own movies (5 feature-length and 4 direct-to-video) and children's TV series. Never before had a character created for local TV commercial spots risen to become a spokesperson for other products & companies, have their own TV guest spots, specials, television series and movie series!

I'm a bit reluctant to include him here, but based on his unique history and the fact that most people knew "Ernest" before they ever heard of Jim Varney grants him a special spot.
I loved Jim Varney! My wife and I would get up early on Saturday morning to watch Hey, Vern, It's Ernest!. So funny. We especially loved "Ernest" going to the barber and always asking to be made to look like a "Wall Street Tycoon," with the barber invariably messing up and making something on Ernest's head that rhymes with "tycoon."

Ooh, Amy Hoggart really looks fine in that picture. May have to look up some more pics of her!

The main thing I like about Sacha Baron Cohen is his wife, Isla Fisher:

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Ooh, Amy Hoggart really looks fine in that picture. May have to look up some more pics of her!
Thanks for bumping the thread, dadgum!

The weirdest coincidence is... just yesterday I was thinking of posting some photos of Amy Hoggart on the Female Beauty We Appreciate thread because she was so adorable when making Almost Royal (I guess that would be 8 years ago).

And speaking of Almost Royal - I just found it in my On Demand menu a few weeks back (under the BBC America network) and re-watched the whole series. Only 15 episodes in total, but so funny!

P.S. I also used to watch Ernest's Saturday morning show... as an adult! This was after I graduated college.