# are you related to anyone famous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358 "2006-06-12T00:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/21 "2006-06-12T06:29:45Z")
I’ve met a number of famous people - largely New Democratic politicians - but I’m not related to anyone in particular. However, there’s a family tradition that we might be related to Ulysses S. Grant. Whoooooooooooooooooooooooee. Also our fifth cousin’s (don’t laugh, we’re close) mother-in-law was a lady in waiting to the Queen of the Netherlands. That’s about it for us. ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/22 "2006-06-12T06:37:39Z")
Jesse James (the outlaw, not the car guy) is my great uncle/cousin or whatever. I forget the connection but it is on my father’s side, and pretty close. woopie ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/23 "2006-06-12T06:46:33Z")
> [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > I am related (cousin) to two famous people, a musician and a novelist, and (niece)two much-less-famous people, a musician and a short story writer. > > My husband’s first wife is moderately famous. More famous than me, anyway! > > Also: I have a pair of jeans that used to belong to a movie star. I was interviewing her when her dachsund puppy, a real cutie, came over, sniffed the cuff of my pants rather thoroughly, and then peed on me. She gave me a pair of her jeans–they are great. Newmans. (No relation to the food empire, I don’t think.) She offered shoes too but my feet are inordinately small, so I just wiped my sandals off, but I took the jeans. When I put them on I looked six inches taller and 20 lbs. slimmer, and felt like a movie star. She wanted to send my pants to the hotel’s cleaning dept. (that was the point of giving me the jeans I think) but I said never mind and just rinsed them out. I offered to send the Newmans back to her but she insisted I keep them. Probably just didn’t want to give me her address. > > All in all I think the jeans are my closest link to fame. Sad, innit. No names, huh? Wow. Deep. Did you know that what’s-his-face married that chick? Seriously. They’re wiccans as well. Wait, you’re not Phyllis Diller are you? ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/24 "2006-06-12T06:52:35Z")
> [@mrald](#): > > Jesse James (the outlaw, not the car guy) is my great uncle/cousin or whatever. I forget the connection but it is on my father’s side, and pretty close. woopie The _motorcycle_ guy claims to be related to the outlaw. Funny how Hitler’s kin tend to downplay their relation to him. I hear that Jesse James was quite the philanthropist. He gave money to women, and they gave him , uhhh, stuff. He never shot anyone BTW, his gun(s) did all that. So, step off bitch! ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/25 "2006-06-12T06:59:26Z")
My paternal grandfather’s brother was married to Jimmy Stewart’s sister, which makes Jimmy … well, nothing to me personally, but my mom’s cousins talk about “Uncle Jim.” ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/26 "2006-06-12T07:19:50Z")
My uncle’s probably the most well known person in my family tree not counting people like 15th cousins once removed and such. He’s Helios Creed. He was in the band [Chrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_%28band%29). I’ll be seeing him next week. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/27 "2006-06-12T07:23:43Z")
Not related, but my mom went to an arts class with Tom Morellos mom a couple years back (Rage Against the Machine). ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/28 "2006-06-12T07:29:45Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > No names, huh? Wow. Deep. > > Did you know that what’s-his-face married that chick? Seriously. They’re wiccans as well. Wait, you’re not Phyllis Diller are you? Well, I’m understandably hesitant to name someone I have an actual connection to, this being an anonymous message board and all. I can say that I am not Phyllis Diller (if that were the case my husband’s ex-wife would not be more famous). Obviously, his ex-wife and I have the same last name, and it’s not a usual one. But I suppose I can say that I got into Robin Wright’s pants. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/29 "2006-06-12T07:44:21Z")
> [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > Well, I’m understandably hesitant to name someone I have an actual connection to, this being an anonymous message board and all. I can say that I am not Phyllis Diller (if that were the case my husband’s ex-wife would not be more famous). Obviously, his ex-wife and I have the same last name, and it’s not a usual one. > > But I suppose I can say that I got into Robin Wright’s pants. I’m joking with you, as I’m sure you know. The thread title is “are you related to anyone famous?” If I posted “no”, I’d be wasting bandwidth. If I posted “yes”, I’d be expected to describe what the hell I was talking about. Show me a person with a secret they won’t share, and I’ll show you someone that several people want to punch in the face. At this time, I have no axe to grind. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/30 "2006-06-12T07:46:51Z")
Wait, on preview, in the context of the post before mine, that seems rather callous. Not my intention. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/31 "2006-06-12T07:59:11Z")
I’m related to someone who is both justifiably famous (2-time Cy Young winner) and justifiably infamous: My relation (I’m not revealing more) even has his own [Wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_McLain) What that page leaves out is his smaller-time fame as a organist (he released at least one album to moderate success). I don’t understand kinship relations well enough to know this, but I’m possibly related by marriage (to the same person as above) to the great Hall-of-Famer and baseball announcer [Lou Boudreau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Boudreau) ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/32 "2006-06-12T08:02:58Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > I went to middle school with an [actor](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420110/) who’s not exactly a household name. I can match that! I worked at McDonald’s with another little-known actor (who got a huge part early in his career), [John Hammond](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0358713/) ---
**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/33 "2006-06-12T08:14:33Z")
My great aunt is [Jane Elliott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Elliott), an anti-racism activist type person who came up with this whole thing where she divides a group up by eye color and has one group treat the other group as inferior, and it’s supposed to teach you what it feels like to be oppressed. She’s been on various talk shows and had a couple documentaries filmed about her. We watched one of them in one of my college classes, which completely weirded me out. Especially the whole, “oh, she’s such a great person, she’s done so much, blah blah blah,” when I know what she’s REALLY like. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/34 "2006-06-12T08:15:49Z")
> [@ambushed](#): > > I can match that! I worked at McDonald’s with another little-known actor (who got a huge part early in his career), [John Hammond](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0358713/) Which part was “huge”? Poor guy hasn’t worked in the biz for 15 years. Guess he’s done with it. Good for him. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/35 "2006-06-12T09:40:21Z")
[John Entwistle](http://www.johnentwistle.com/) was my wife’s uncle. And it sure doesn’t seem like four years since he died. (Not that I could claim to have known him - I met him once, and as it was his son’s wedding he had slightly bigger fish to fry than saying hi to his niece’s husband. I enjoyed the free champagne though.) ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/36 "2006-06-12T09:46:20Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > The _motorcycle_ guy claims to be related to the outlaw. > > Funny how Hitler’s kin tend to downplay their relation to him. I hear that Jesse James was quite the philanthropist. He gave money to women, and they gave him , uhhh, stuff. He never shot anyone BTW, his gun(s) did all that. So, step off bitch! Excuse me, I was simply trying to be to the point. Jesse James does [cars](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/aviation/1559477.html) too thank you very much. Doesn’t a person have to pull the trigger to shoot someone anyway? BTW, I said nothing about shooting. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/37 "2006-06-12T10:00:44Z")
> [@mrald](#): > > Excuse me, I was simply trying to be to the point. Jesse James does [cars](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/aviation/1559477.html) too thank you very much. Doesn’t a person have to pull the trigger to shoot someone anyway? > > BTW, I said nothing about shooting. :rolleyes: I’m very sorry. I meant that to be tongue-in-cheek, but forgot the winky smiley. Without the smarmy, sarcastic tone I intended, it does come off as quite mean. No offense intended. Sorry if I offended you. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/38 "2006-06-12T10:08:53Z")
According to vague family “history” I’m related to–but not descended from–President James Buchanan. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/39 "2006-06-12T10:20:45Z")
The Wright Brothers…my grandmother had a picture of her standing with them at Kitty Hawk, but the photo somehow got lost over the years, although I remember seeing it as a kid. Considering I have a fear of flying, I obviously did not inherit any of those adventurous genes. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358/40 "2006-06-12T10:48:37Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > The Wright Brothers…my grandmother had a picture of her standing with them at Kitty Hawk, but the photo somehow got lost over the years, although I remember seeing it as a kid. Considering I have a fear of flying, I obviously did not inherit any of those adventurous genes. A recent Dope thread has the [cure](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=374005) for this. Apparently you go up in an open-cockpit stunt biplane and your instructor does an aileron roll… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-related-to-anyone-famous/360358.md?page=3)