Michael (actually probably the only sports figure I can think of who falls into this)
Conan
Saddamn
I didn’t even have to type their last names, and most of you already know who I’m talking about. They have last names, but some of you probably don’t even know what they are. Those names, just their first names, will be spoken in tabloid tv promos and put on the front cover of magazines, and although some of them are pretty common (I’m sure everyone knows a couple other Bens or Christinas outside of stardom), everyone already knows who they are talking about. This is just getting the list started, but what other first names have been claimed by a celebrity?
The British Royal Family. Their last name (Windsor) is never used in any propper address to the members.
Madonna is the most popular star that I don’t know the last name of
I support your idea that you can probably figure out who these people are by just their first name but the idea that people don’t commonly use their last name or don’t even know what it is does not any sense whatsoever. I almost always see and hear them referenced by both. Even by your list, I assumed that you were referring to Michael Jackson but it seems that I was wrong based on the later text.
Madonna and Cher (and Twiggy if you want to go way back) are the only oned that fit your criteria in my mind.
Michael (Jordan) always stood out to me because was the one single basketball player who was always refered to by his first name instead of a nickname or his last name, whether it was in newspapers/magazines, live commentary, etc. Sometimes in commercials it was shortened to Mike (you know…be like mike), but his last name was nearly never spoken.
oh yeah, I remembered one more sports figure. Nomar!
As a Brit, I have no idea who Ben is…Stiller?..Affleck?.. really don’t know.
I can guess Michael with the sports clue but doers it really work? What about Michael Douglas? In Britain, even with the sports clue, Owen or Schumacher would be just as likely a guess these days.
I had to stop and think a minute about Ben.
I’ll have to disagree with Michael, though. Without the sports context, I’d be clueless. Jackson? Moore?
Another sports figure everyone’s missed is Shaq.