# Celebrities/VIPs/Luminaries whose names phonetically join in the middle **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [February 16, 2018, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912 "2018-02-16T03:47:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2018, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/261 "2018-04-28T11:15:31Z")
Ernest Tubb had a number of Billboard Top 40 hits (and it’s even more impressive than that; after all, various folks respectably top out there — but Tubb had various songs reach #1 on the _country_ chart, and even landed himself a starring role up on the big screen in [Hollywood Barn Dance](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0177841/?ref_=m_nmfmd_act_2)). Also, his writeup at the Country Music Hall of Fame notes that he _“was the first to bring a Grand Ole Opry show into Carnegie Hall”_. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/262 "2018-04-28T17:46:00Z")
Former NJ governor and gay American Jim McGreevey (also the last person to shock me by coming out). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/263 "2018-04-29T12:35:30Z")
Duke Cunningham was a Congressman for over two decades, as was Jim Moran. So, first off: [_“In 1995, Moran and California Republican Duke Cunningham had to be restrained by the Capitol Police after a shoving match on the house floor over President Bill Clinton’s decision to send U.S. troops to Bosnia.”_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Moran) And, second: [_“In June 2005, a story appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune by Marcus Stern and Jerry Kammer, who would later receive a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting. The story revealed that a defense contractor, Mitchell Wade, founder of the defense contracting firm MZM Inc. (since renamed Athena Innovative Solutions Inc.), bought Cunningham’s house in Del Mar in 2003 for $1,675,000. A month later, Wade placed it back on the market where it remained unsold for 8 months until the price was reduced to $975,000. Cunningham was a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee at the time. Soon after the purchase, Wade’s company began to receive tens of millions of dollars worth of defense and intelligence contracts.”_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Cunningham) So figure that, as a Congressman, he got enough status to qualify for the thread in general; but figure he also got an extra measure of notoriety for two separate things, each of which involved someone else with a name that joins in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/264 "2018-04-30T11:10:17Z")
I’m not 100% sure whether Julius Caesar would count. Or, come to think of it, whether Augustus Caesar would count. I will, though, note that [Caesar Rodney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_Rodney) _“was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and President of Delaware during most of the American Revolution.”_ ---
**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:** [May 1, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/265 "2018-05-01T13:14:43Z")
Maya Angelou ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/266 "2018-05-01T14:48:00Z")
Figure skater Elvis Stojko: two-time Olympic medalist, three-time world champion, and the first person to land a quadruple-double jump combination. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/267 "2018-05-02T11:08:34Z")
Andrew Wiles got tons of headlines and awards by proving Fermat’s Last Theorem. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/268 "2018-05-03T09:53:29Z")
In his twenties, Rex Smith hit full-on teen idol status: on the strength of his role in **Sooner or Later** , he got a hit single with “You Take My Breath Away” — and he parlayed that into an award-winning run as Frederic in **Pirates of Penzance** on Broadway with Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline, which in turn is why all of them naturally did the movie together — and then, top billing on TV in **Street Hawk**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/269 "2018-05-04T09:18:47Z")
Desmond Doss, the only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during WWII, recently got a lot of press thanks to **Hacksaw Ridge**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/270 "2018-05-05T09:22:29Z")
…and, so long as I’m talking about **Hacksaw Ridge** , let me make quick mention of one of its actors: he was Agent Smith, he was the Red Skull, he was Elrond, he was Megatron, he was V, and I figure he qualifies for this thread as Hugo Weaving. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/271 "2018-05-06T13:23:23Z")
Beatrice Straight got an Oscar and a Tony, but also got plenty of TV work — she was Wonder Woman’s mom, on Paradise Island, on _Wonder Woman_; and Robert Kennedy’s mom, in _Robert Kennedy And His Times_; and King Lear’s daughter, with Orson Welles as Lear, on _Omnibus_; and she got nominated for a trifecta Emmy for _The Dain Curse_, with James Coburn doing the whole private-eye thing; and so on. (Of course, for some folks all of that pales in comparison to her memorable turn as the paranormal investigator in the _Poltergeist_ blockbuster — but you get the idea.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/272 "2018-05-07T11:02:02Z")
Mac King, who memorably pairs the affable patter of a stand-up comic with the hands of a stage magician, has of course made TV appearances on **Penn & Teller: Fool Us** , and on **Just For Laughs** and **The World’s Greatest Magic** (and **II** and **III** and **IV** and **V** ); and you may have seen him on **Letterman** , or on **Comic Strip Live** ; and et cetera. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/273 "2018-05-08T10:10:53Z")
He’s currently in the Top Ten, but year after year after year has actually seen him at #1 when it comes to moneymoneymoney: Carlos Slim. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/274 "2018-05-09T10:53:06Z")
8-time Olympic medalist Apolo Ohno has done various TV commercials, and seasons of _Dancing With The Stars_, and a stint as a game-show host, you name it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/275 "2018-05-10T11:31:11Z")
Lawrence Summers went from serving as a Cabinet Secretary to making headlines as the President of Harvard. (I’m not saying they were _good_ headlines; I’m just saying they were _headlines_. Remember his speech about why women are underrepresented in the sciences? He, uh, had some ideas he wanted to share.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/276 "2018-05-11T09:40:27Z")
_The Jack Carson Show_ was on radio for years before _The Jack Carson Show_ hit TV, which helps explain why Carson has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also did tons of films: billed second to Joan Crawford, in _Mildred Pierce_; and to Ginger Rogers, in _The Groom Wore Spurs_; and to Rosemary Clooney, in _Red Garters_; and to Rosalind Russell, in _Roughly Speaking_; and so on. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/277 "2018-05-12T11:09:18Z")
The day came when post-WWII Brits turned to Winston Churchill and said, _yeah, so, you’re out, as Prime Minister; and it’s Anthony Eden’s time, now._ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/278 "2018-05-13T11:35:55Z")
Jake Kasdan got an Emmy nomination for directing _New Girl_ in between directing a couple of Cameron Diaz movies, after picking up a Golden Globe nomination (and a Grammy nomination) for his work on _Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story_ — but what I figure is worth mentioning right now is, he just directed that _Jumanji_ blockbuster: they gave him a $90 million budget, and it’s grossed more than $900 million. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/279 "2018-05-14T10:25:04Z")
I figure that Walter Reed distinguished himself in a number of ways, and that he got rather a lot of things named after him for doing so. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912/280 "2018-05-15T11:00:02Z")
In the news this week: Jes Staley, the JP Morgan CEO turned Barclay’s CEO, who’s been making headlines for a scandal involving Tim Main. But as that’s maybe not enough in the way of ‘celebrity’ bona fides for the thread, I’ll mention two-time Tony nominee (and two-time Olivier winner) Tim _Minchin,_ who makes the rounds on talk shows and puts out records and performs stand-up and is playing Friar Tuck in that ROBIN HOOD movie that hits theaters later this year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-vips-luminaries-whose-names-phonetically-join-in-the-middle/808912.md?page=15)