Google can now search for a person's "Bacon Number"

[Bob Ducca]

They take the fun out of everything...

Louis CK's Bacon Number is 2.

[Colophon]

Everyone I search for has a Bacon number of 2. Or no number at all.

[UncleRojelio]

They don't have mine.

[DCnDC]

I'm having difficulty getting anyone past 2.

I've gone to lists of silent movie stars and still haven't passed 4 (Max Linder: Max Linder and Léon Belières appeared in Max and His Mother-in-Law, Léon Belières and Marcel Dalio appeared in Conflit, Marcel Dalio and Eli Wallach appeared in How to Steal a Million, Eli Wallach and Kevin Bacon appeared in Mystic River).

[Sattua]

Wil Wheaton just tweeted that Google has his number wrong, it is in fact 1.

[bup]

Bonita Granville (Nancy Drew in the 1930's) has a bacon number of 3.

Silent movie stars have some quick connections to Bacon (Chaplin's number is 2, Buster Keaton's is 2, Lillian Gish's is 2), so anybody who appeared with any of these 'quick connections' in a movie is only at 3 at most.

[Loach]

I don't have a Bacon Number. But if you count meeting someone it would be 3.

[Shagnasty]

I get 2's for everyone as well, even some that seem implausible (Nell Carter for example). Maybe Google took the easy way out when they programmed it.

ETA: Shirley Temple has a Bacon number of 3.

[gaffa]

Originally Posted by Sattua

Wil Wheaton just tweeted that Google has his number wrong, it is in fact 1.

Will Wheaton was in a MOVIE with Kevin Bacon?

Update: I checked, and he was in She's Having A Baby. But listed as "uncredited".

[Bootis]

Silent Film Czech actor Karel Hašler is a 5.

[Colophon]

They don't have the Erdős–Bacon numbers up yet.

[Martian Bigfoot]

I got a 4: Shane Carruth, who made and played the lead role in Primer. He's the first one I could think of who has a) been in a reasonably well-known movie, b) somewhat recently, c) in which there were no well-known actors.

[Alka Seltzer]

I have no Bacon number. Or bacon.

[CalMeacham]

It correctly gives Erland van Lidth de Jeude's Bacon number of 2.

When I plug my neme in, though, I get zilch. As i remarked in an earlier thread, I appeared on TV with someone (Tate Steinseik) who had a Bacon number of 3, whichI'd kinda hoped would give me a Bacon Number of 4. But a.) They probably don't count TV appearances and b.) I'm probably not listed on iMDB or whatever their reference is.

In fact, they don't give Steinseik a Bacon Number, either.

[njtt]

It's the Erdös-Bacon-Sabbath number that really counts.

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by njtt

It's the Erdös-Bacon-Sabbath number that really counts.

Damn! I've definitely got an Erdos number, and arguably a Bacon number, but no way do I have a Sabbath number. I am terminally unhip.

[bienville]

Originally Posted by Shagnasty

I get 2's for everyone as well, even some that seem implausible (Nell Carter for example).

The number is immediately followed by an explanation of the connections- with links, even.

What do you find implausible about:

Originally Posted by Google

Nell Carter and Brian Doyle-Murray appeared in Modern Problems.
Brian Doyle-Murray and Kevin Bacon appeared in JFK.

?

[Happy Lendervedder]

Ron Jeremy, Jenna Jameson and Diana Ross all have 2s.

Ronald Reagan is a 3. As is his wife, Nancy. Jane Wyman, however, is a 2.

[Irishman]

So I opened the OP's link, it is a google search. I scanned the first two pages of returns, none of them look promising for "Bacon number" for Louis CK. A handful seem to mention "bacon" lowercase.

What am I missing?

Oh yeah, there are also several listings for "Louis CK at the Beacon Theater".

[bup]

This looks like a mistake:

Originally Posted by google

Lon Chaney, Sr.'s Bacon number is 3
Lon Chaney, Sr. and Kenneth Branagh appeared in The Unknown.
Kenneth Branagh and January Jones appeared in The Boat That Rocked.
January Jones and Kevin Bacon appeared in X-Men: First Class.

Lon Chaney and Kenneth Branagh were in a movie together? "The Unknown" is a 1927 movie with Lon Chaney, but not Branagh!

[Shagnasty]

There are a few high ones. William Rufus Shafter has a Bacon number of 7 according to Google.

[Martian Bigfoot]

Originally Posted by Shagnasty

There are a few high ones. William Rufus Shafter has a Bacon number of 7 according to Google.

Interesting. Mr. Shafter seems to be rather well known in certain circles for his high number. Which makes him... famous for being obscure. I'm not sure if I should try to think too hard about that.

[Sitnam]

Barack Obama is 2, that's awesome.

[Musicat]

Originally Posted by Alka Seltzer

I have no Bacon number. Or bacon.

I would side with you, but I just had a side of bacon.

[Giles]

Someone that I babysat when he was a baby -- i.e., under 1 year old -- has a Bacon number of 3.

I also know someone with a Bacon number of 2 -- well, I knew her as a child, know her mother, went to school with her father, and knew two of her grandparents.

[Bob Ducca]

Originally Posted by Irishman

So I opened the OP's link, it is a google search. I scanned the first two pages of returns, none of them look promising for "Bacon number" for Louis CK. A handful seem to mention "bacon" lowercase.

What am I missing?

Oh yeah, there are also several listings for "Louis CK at the Beacon Theater".

At the top of the search page, is it not displaying the Bacon Number results?

[Enderw24]

Stephen Hawking is a 3

Peter Jennings's Bacon number is 4

Shakira's Bacon number is 3 (Shake n' Bake!)

Tom Davis's Bacon number is 2 (Davis-Bacon would be low)

[Robot Arm]

Originally Posted by bup

This looks like a mistake:

Lon Chaney and Kenneth Branagh were in a movie together? "The Unknown" is a 1927 movie with Lon Chaney, but not Branagh!

I thought I might be able to get there through a different path. Boris Karloff is a 2 (via Jack Nicholson), but I can't find a movie with Chaney Sr. and Karloff together.

[Anamorphic]

They don't have me. My Bacon number is also 2.

Although, if you search it for my name, you get a British comedian/actor by the same name. He is also a 2.

[Rhiannon8404]

That's very cool. My cousin was married to Dennis Rodman. His bacon number is 2. That means mine is 4. Not too shabby.

[bienville]

Originally Posted by bup

This looks like a mistake:

Lon Chaney and Kenneth Branagh were in a movie together? "The Unknown" is a 1927 movie with Lon Chaney, but not Branagh!

Originally Posted by Robot Arm

I thought I might be able to get there through a different path. Boris Karloff is a 2 (via Jack Nicholson), but I can't find a movie with Chaney Sr. and Karloff together.

We want Lon Chaney Sr. as a 3?

I've got:

1. Lon Chaney with Lionel Barrymore in West of Zanzibar
2. Lionel Barrymore with Kenneth Tobey in Right Cross
3. Kenneth Tobey with Kevin Bacon in Hero at Large

And I spent more time finding that than I'd like to admit- of course none of this excuses the mistake that bup pointed out.

Now I'm off to check Oracle of Bacon to see if they've got a better/different result.





EDIT: Oracle of Bacon also has Lon Chaney as a 3, but they connected through different actors than I did. They got:
Lon Chaney -> Louise La Planche (in Hunchback of Notre Dame) -> J.C. MacKenzie (in Dutch) -> Kevin Bacon (in My One and Only)

I think my connections were cooler.

[Suburban Plankton]

Originally Posted by Rhiannon8404

That's very cool. My cousin was married to Dennis Rodman. His bacon number is 2. That means mine is 4. Not too shabby.

Cool! That means my number is 5.

I can't wait to brag to the guys at work tomorrow

[njtt]

I thought you had to actually be in a movie with someone to inherit a Bacon number from them.

Although Google does not acknowledge her, my mother-in-law was in movies with at least five different people who (according to Google) have BN 2, so she was (she's now deceased) at most a 3. (It is fairly likely she actually merits a BN of 2 herself, but the few minutes I put in on researching the matter via the IMDB did not turn up the evidence.)

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by njtt

I thought you had to actually be in a movie with someone to inherit a Bacon number from them.

Yeah, my understanding is that you have to have worked directly with him. Knowing someone who knows someone who knows Kevin Bacon doesn't give you a Bacon number.

[bienville]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Yeah, my understanding is that you have to have worked directly with him. Knowing someone who knows someone who knows Kevin Bacon doesn't give you a Bacon number.

Correct. This is why the cashier still would not allow Kevin Bacon to write a personal check to make his purchases at that little shop.




As I understand the rules, your Bacon number must be traced through films no T.V. steps allowed:
Bob was in a movie with Jane / Jane was on an episode of a T.V. show with Suzy / Suzy was in a movie with Kevin Bacon

Neither Bob nor Jane earn a valid Bacon Number through this connection.

The other rule we played by in college (when this whole things was new) was that it had to be actor -> actor connections:
Bob was in a movie directed by Edgar / Edgar directed a movie starring Betty / Betty was in a movie with Kevin Bacon

Bob still gets no Bacon Number.

Also, we never accepted voice-over performances nor archive footage.

[Irishman]

Originally Posted by Bob Ducca

At the top of the search page, is it not displaying the Bacon Number results?

Oh, that. Guess I was looking right over that as an ad. Mental filter overworking.

[Rhiannon8404]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Yeah, my understanding is that you have to have worked directly with him. Knowing someone who knows someone who knows Kevin Bacon doesn't give you a Bacon number.

If you have to have worked directly with Kevin Bacon, wouldn't everyone's Bacon number always be 1? There would be no degrees of separation and thus, no number but one.

As for my Bacon number, I guess that's the wrong phrase, I have 4 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

[Fiddle Peghead]

I can remember first hearing about the Bacon Number in 1995 or so, when according to imdb.com he had been in about 30 movies. Wiki confirms that the Bacon Number game started in 1994. He has now been in 74 titles. I know it's in good fun and all, but I think it's high time someone came up a new actor/actress to structure this game around. It's no fun anymore.

[drastic_quench]

James Dean scores a three. I used to know a bunch of fours from the old days. Oracle of Bacon was one of the first things I did online.

[Robot Arm]

Originally Posted by bienville

We want Lon Chaney Sr. as a 3?

I've got:

1. Lon Chaney with Lionel Barrymore in West of Zanzibar
2. Lionel Barrymore with Kenneth Tobey in Right Cross
3. Kenneth Tobey with Kevin Bacon in Hero at Large

And I spent more time finding that than I'd like to admit- of course none of this excuses the mistake that bup pointed out.

Now I'm off to check Oracle of Bacon to see if they've got a better/different result.





EDIT: Oracle of Bacon also has Lon Chaney as a 3, but they connected through different actors than I did. They got:
Lon Chaney -> Louise La Planche (in Hunchback of Notre Dame) -> J.C. MacKenzie (in Dutch) -> Kevin Bacon (in My One and Only)

I think my connections were cooler.

Yeah, but if I'd been able to use the Karloff -> Nicholson connection, that would have been even better.

Two things I remember from playing with the Oracle years ago:

1. It's really, really hard to find anyone higher than a 4.

2. The same links kept showing up. I tried a few names from old Sergei Eisenstein films and they all seemed to link through Bob Hoskins. (I'm not seeing the same connections now. Further research is called for.)

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Rhiannon8404

If you have to have worked directly with Kevin Bacon, wouldn't everyone's Bacon number always be 1? There would be no degrees of separation and thus, no number but one.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. My phrasing was bad. You will have to have worked directly with someone who has worked directly with someone who has worked directly...etc...with Kevin Bacon.

Or, the more strict rule, as per bienville, that you have to draw connections through movies you've acted in.

[drewtwo99]

Originally Posted by Fiddle Peghead

I can remember first hearing about the Bacon Number in 1995 or so, when according to imdb.com he had been in about 30 movies. Wiki confirms that the Bacon Number game started in 1994. He has now been in 74 titles. I know it's in good fun and all, but I think it's high time someone came up a new actor/actress to structure this game around. It's no fun anymore.

Let's do the Daniel Day-Lewis number. He's only been an actor in like... 7 movies?

[Musicat]

Kevin Bacon's number is zero.

[Alan Smithee]

The highest I was able to come up with for an actual actor in an actual movie was Augustus Philips, who played Dr. Frankenstein in Thomas Edison's Frankenstein. His Bacon number is 4. I was disappointed that the cast of Freaks have Bacon numbers no higher than 3 (thanks to Wallace Ford).

[Colophon]

Originally Posted by Shagnasty

There are a few high ones. William Rufus Shafter has a Bacon number of 7 according to Google.

"President McKinley Inauguration Footage"? That seems like cheating to me.

[NotherYinzer]

Originally Posted by bienville

As I understand the rules, your Bacon number must be traced through films no T.V. steps allowed

Well, phooey! I had a BN of 2 before I learned that.

I was an extra on CSI:NY with Gary Sinise, who was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.

[DCnDC]

Originally Posted by drewtwo99

Let's do the Daniel Day-Lewis number. He's only been an actor in like... 7 movies?

He's just a 2: "Daniel Day-Lewis and Bruce McGill appeared in Lincoln.
Bruce McGill and Kevin Bacon appeared in National Lampoon's Animal House."

He may have only made a handful of movies, but several of those movies featured huge casts of well-known, prolific actors.

[AK84]

Marat Safin has a bacon number. 6 I think.

[Johnny Bravo]

Originally Posted by drastic_quench

James Dean scores a three. I used to know a bunch of fours from the old days. Oracle of Bacon was one of the first things I did online.

The internet hipster part of me has spent the last day or so screaming about how I've been using the Oracle of Bacon for YEARS AND HOW DARE GOOGLE.

[Enderw24]

Originally Posted by AK84

Marat Safin has a bacon number. 6 I think.

Marat Safin's Bacon number is 5

I tried to backtrack from that to get a larger number but Google isn't recognizing the Bacon Number of people like Tracy Austin or Nick Bollettieri or Igor Andreev even though they're in IMDB