# Any other performers play a same-name "other character" like Stephen Colbert? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831 "2007-10-15T20:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/1 "2007-10-15T20:39:15Z")
I was watching a repeat of Stephen Colbert on _Larry King_ the other night, and he answered about half his questions as his serious self and the other half as the ignorant arrogant persona (the _other_ Stephen Colbert). I’ve thought several times that while he’s getting rich and has a great show/great job, it must be frustrating at times that he’s not just playing a character but he’s playing a character with the same name and bio (born in Charleston, youngest of 11 kids, etc.) as his real self. Several actors have been very famous for playing a character: Andrew Clay Silverstein has played Andrew Dice Clay for 20-odd years, Clifford Arquette was [Charlie Weaver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Weaver) on most of his appearances (the real old man was a booze and hooker loving playboy, incidentally), Andy Kaufman was infamous as Tony Clifton, etc… I suppose to some extent stand-up comics have this: Rodney Dangerfield and Phyllis Diller both did jokes about their spouses when in fact both were divorced/single and every comedian seems to have just broken up with their girlfriend or whatever, but then in another conflation Colbert actually tells the truth about his personal life (married, three kids, lives in NJ). Have any entertainers had a whole other persona with the same name and background like Colbert does? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/2 "2007-10-15T20:44:03Z")
Jerry Seinfeld comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/3 "2007-10-15T20:45:57Z")
Mike Nelson played Mike Nelson on MST3K, but I’m reasonably certain the real one wasn’t shot into space. Similarly, Jerry Seinfeld played lesser comedian Jerry Seinfeld on the TV show. I’m not sure that’s what you’re looking for, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/4 "2007-10-15T20:49:24Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I’m not sure that’s what you’re looking for, though. [/QUOTE] Seinfeld would be close. I’m looking for people who have played a fictional character using their own name and much of their bio. (The real Stephen Colbert, for instance, is an extremely well read and if-not-liberal-then-at-least-not-conservative guy who plays Stephen Colbert, an obnoxious unread ultra-conservative.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/5 "2007-10-15T20:53:01Z")
Wouldn’t the aforementioned Kaufman count? I missed his several years of fame but from what I understand his schtick probably crossed the line from “deliberately altering the expression of your personality for profit” into “creating a new character for profit” even if he was always in-character. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/6 "2007-10-15T20:53:23Z")
[It’s Gary Shandling’s Show](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_Garry_Shandling's_Show) ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/7 "2007-10-15T20:54:21Z")
RuPaul? Nah, that’s just a character. HHHmmm, let me cogitate. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/8 "2007-10-15T20:54:34Z")
Well, for decades, from Lucille Ball through Bob Newhart to, um, Bob Newhart, there’s been a whole lot of sitcom comedians playing characters with the same name. Sometimes they have some overlap with the real person (Lucy married to a Cuban bandleader played by her real Cuban bandleader husband; Seinfeld), sometimes less (Bob Newhart and, um, Bob Newhart again). ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/9 "2007-10-15T21:09:29Z")
I think the radio/TV version of George Burns and Gracie Allen fit the requirement. Jack Benny to a lesser extent. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/10 "2007-10-15T21:14:36Z")
[QUOTE=Quercus] (Lucy married to a Cuban bandleader played by her real Cuban bandleader husband; Seinfeld) [/QUOTE] That was very confusing until I realized that you’d used a semicolon. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/11 "2007-10-15T21:19:43Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] That was very confusing until I realized that you’d used a semicolon. [/QUOTE] Same here! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/12 "2007-10-15T21:23:38Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] I think the radio/TV version of George Burns and Gracie Allen fit the requirement. Jack Benny to a lesser extent. [/QUOTE] How lesser extent? The comedic Benny had a radio and TV show just like the real one. We also have Dean Martin playing Deano the drunk - even before he became Deano the drunk. Even comics who didn’t play themselves did, to an extent. W. C. Fields might have had another name in his movies, but when he went on radio he played the W. C. Fields persona, just like Colbert did. Back then I suppose they assumed the audience couldn’t tell the difference. In an interview with Lewis Black on the air, he was normal for most of it, but at the end he went into a Lewis Black rant, I suppose just to show how it is done. I don’t think that happened back in radio days. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/13 "2007-10-15T21:25:37Z")
FYI, only the fictional Stephen Colbert went to [Dartmouth](http://ask.dartmouth.edu/categories/misc/04.html). No word on whether the real Colbert ever spray the F over the D on the Dartmouth sign (that’s copyrighted, Dartmouth students!). ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/14 "2007-10-15T21:25:39Z")
PeeWee Herman, maybe? Not a clean fit, but close. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/15 "2007-10-15T21:29:01Z")
Sarah Silverman? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/16 "2007-10-15T21:30:45Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] How lesser extent? The comedic Benny had a radio and TV show just like the real one. We also have Dean Martin playing Deano the drunk - even before he became Deano the drunk. Even comics who didn’t play themselves did, to an extent. W. C. Fields might have had another name in his movies, but when he went on radio he played the W. C. Fields persona, just like Colbert did. Back then I suppose they assumed the audience couldn’t tell the difference. In an interview with Lewis Black on the air, he was normal for most of it, but at the end he went into a Lewis Black rant, I suppose just to show how it is done. I don’t think that happened back in radio days. [/QUOTE] Dean Martin makes me think of Jerry Lewis. Jerry Lewis had his ditzy persona with the screechy voice, but when you saw him out of character he was totally different. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/17 "2007-10-15T21:33:08Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] How lesser extent? The comedic Benny had a radio and TV show just like the real one. [/QUOTE] Only that Jack and Mary Livingstone were married in real life, but not on the show. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/18 "2007-10-15T21:35:12Z")
[QUOTE=Quercus] Well, for decades, from Lucille Ball through Bob Newhart to, um, Bob Newhart, there’s been a whole lot of sitcom comedians playing characters with the same name. [/QUOTE] No. Lucille Ball played a character names Lucy Ricardo nee McGillicudy. Bob Newhart played a character named Bob Hartley. I think that Morton Downey Jr. might fit the bill. He was an over the top character with a talk show whose real views were probably more moderate. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/19 "2007-10-15T22:07:29Z")
Larry David on “Curb Your Enthusiasm?” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831/20 "2007-10-15T22:27:01Z")
Al Franken used a parody version of himself as the main character in _Why Not Me?_, a book about his supposed Presidential campaign and has also done so to a lesser extent in other books. William Goldman used a fictional version of himself to frame his novel _The Princess Bride_. He talks about giving the book to his son; in reality, Goldman has two daughters and no son. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-performers-play-a-same-name-other-character-like-stephen-colbert/422831.md?page=2)