# Celebrities with REAL (Not Honorary) Doctorates **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613 "2007-02-17T14:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/61 "2007-02-19T19:06:50Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] She’ll have no problem getting into a top math or physics grad school when and if she decides to go for a Ph.D… [/QUOTE] I dunno, do they let attractive women into Math PhD programs? d&r ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/62 "2007-02-19T19:11:13Z")
ProQuest does not list any dissertation under Whoopi’s birthname. Neither does Worldcat, FYIW. I suspect that Wendell Wagner’s right about unverified copied “facts”. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/63 "2007-02-19T19:30:07Z")
[QUOTE=capybara] ProQuest does not list any dissertation under Whoopi’s birthname. Neither does Worldcat, FYIW. I suspect that Wendell Wagner’s right about unverified copied “facts”. [/QUOTE] I suspect that “Fontaine” a character she has portrayed in her one-woman show(s), has somehow gotten conflated with her real life. Fontaine is a junkie with a Ph.D, which I believe is supposed to be in literature. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/64 "2007-02-19T20:29:43Z")
dropzone writes: \> I dunno, do they let attractive women into Math PhD programs? I’ve known a few such women. By real-life standards, the women mathematicians I’ve known are about average for looks. I say real-life standards, because I suspect that someone is going to apply Hollyword standards. In a Hollywood movie, there are beautiful women, who it will turn out are jerks that you don’t want to hang around with, and there are the nice girls, who when they finally let their hair down and take off their glasses, are actually pretty good-looking. The beautiful women in Hollywood movies are more beautiful than anyone you will _ever_ meet in real life. The merely nice girls are the ones that are about as beautiful as anyone you will ever meet in real life - you know, the ones who were the prettiest girls in your classes in high school and college, who would never consider dating you. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/65 "2007-02-19T20:33:01Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] dropzone writes: \> I dunno, do they let attractive women into Math PhD programs? I’ve known a few such women. [/QUOTE] Really? \<\<_primps_\>\> Can you introduce me, please? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/66 "2007-02-19T20:38:05Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Stephen Hawking has a PhD from Cambridge, and of course we all know him from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he played a holodeck simulation of famed physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking. He is also well known for his [rap music](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Hawking)😃 [/QUOTE] Don’t forget his role as a member of Al Gore’s Vice Presidential Action Rangers! ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/67 "2007-02-19T20:46:49Z")
I used to babysit for the kids of [Alan Page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Page), a pro football player for the Minnesota viking, and probably the only person to be a State Supreme Court judge and an inductee into the Football Hall of Fame. Nice guy, too. StG ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/68 "2007-02-19T21:17:34Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] [QUOTE=dropzone] I dunno, do they let attractive women into Math PhD programs? [/QUOTE] I’ve known a few such women. [/QUOTE] Cite please? 😃 (Also, did anyone else read that in the “No-Neck” voice from RHPS?) [QUOTE=muldoonthief] Don’t forget his role as a member of Al Gore’s Vice Presidential Action Rangers! [/QUOTE] Now, I’m not sure if his membership of a covert organization is really applicable to either his academic qualifications or his celebrity status. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/69 "2007-02-20T12:23:34Z")
JThunder writes: \> \<\\> Can you introduce me, please? What would be the point? Not only won’t they date me, but they barely notice my existence. Do you think that they’re going to be interested in some random person I’ve never met on message board I post to occasionally? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/70 "2007-02-20T12:30:12Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Weller (Robocop) shows up frequently these days as a talking head in documentaries. I did a double-take the fist time I saw him in that role. [/QUOTE] **I** was not surprised. Everyone knows that Buckaroo Banzai has many talents. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/71 "2007-02-20T12:42:34Z")
Columnist and talking head **George F. Will** has a PhD in Political Science from Princeton. Author and snappy dresser **Tom Wolfe** has a PhD in American Studies from Yale. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/72 "2007-02-20T17:34:13Z")
Tom Magliozzi (he’s either Click or Clack, I’m not sure, of “Car Talk” fame) has a doctorate in marketing and I believe an MBA. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/73 "2007-02-20T17:53:44Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] Typo Knig writes: \> Also not a doctorate, but Danica McKellar co-authored a very well-regarded \> paper in mathematics, as an undergraduate. Let’s not exaggerate. It was a pretty good theorem, but it wasn’t anything earth-shaking. Incidentally, it’s a theorem in mathematical physics, not in math. She’ll have no problem getting into a top math or physics grad school when and if she decides to go for a Ph.D., but she’s not considered a great mathematician just because she co-authored a good but not great theorem as an undergraduate. [/QUOTE] Yes, but I can guarantee you that paper of hers has more citations than all of my papers put together. ☹ And would still have more citations than mine even if “Winnie” was not a co-author. ☹ ☹ [QUOTE=dropzone] I dunno, do they let attractive women into Math PhD programs? [/QUOTE] There were some **very** nice looking women grad students in my department when I was getting my PhD. IMHO two or three could have gone into modeling or acting, if they wanted to. Seriously! That was physics, not math, but close enough for present purposes. I didn’t hang out with math grad students much, but I’m sure there were some beauties there as well. The fact that all of the women were smart and nice just amplified their physical beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/74 "2007-02-21T12:58:49Z")
Typo Knig writes: \> Yes, but I can guarantee you that paper of hers has more citations than all of \> my papers put together. Really? Is there a way to look up the number of times that a paper is cited in other papers? How many times has the Chayes-McKellar-Winn paper been cited? How many papers have you written and how many times have they been cited? I had one paper published that I wrote as an undergraduate (although it wasn’t published till the year after I graduated), and I didn’t even make it to the Ph.D. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/75 "2007-02-21T13:48:19Z")
[QUOTE=Typo Knig] There were some **very** nice looking women grad students in my department when I was getting my PhD. IMHO two or three could have gone into modeling or acting, if they wanted to. Seriously! That was physics, not math, but close enough for present purposes. I didn’t hang out with math grad students much, but I’m sure there were some beauties there as well. The fact that all of the women were smart and nice just amplified their physical beauty. [/QUOTE] Introduce me! Introduce me, please. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/76 "2007-02-21T16:54:22Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] I dunno, do they let attractive women into Math PhD programs? d&r [/QUOTE] Sexy Hollywood star Heddy Lamarr (from Austria with a biography that reads like a thriller) was regarded as something of Mathmatical genius and If I remember correctly did end up getting advanced degrees in mathamatics after her film career was over. Some of her inventions/theories still are (pun here) making waves. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/77 "2007-02-21T18:06:10Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] Typo Knig writes: \> Yes, but I can guarantee you that paper of hers has more citations than all of \> my papers put together. Really? Is there a way to look up the number of times that a paper is cited in other papers? How many times has the Chayes-McKellar-Winn paper been cited? How many papers have you written and how many times have they been cited? I had one paper published that I wrote as an undergraduate (although it wasn’t published till the year after I graduated), and I didn’t even make it to the Ph.D. [/QUOTE] Wiki links: [Science Citation Index](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Citation_Index) and, more generally, [citation index](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_index). Also see [Impact Factor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor). From the Citation Index wiki page: “In a landmark paper of 1965 [Ralph Garner at Drexel University] and Irving Sher showed the correlation between citation frequency and eminence in demonstrating that Nobel Prize winners published five times the average number of papers while their work was cited 30 to 50 times the average.” I don’t have access to Science Citation Index myself, but any good University librarian should be able to help. Wiki says there’s a web site where one can make queires, but I need to get back to my real job. My publications have at most a handful of citations. Probably less than 10 if you exclude later papers by my group referencing earlier ones. I worked in a couple of small areas in physics, and I never made a splash even in those small ponds. I left physics in '92 during the great science jobs crash. [QUOTE=JThunder] [QUOTE=Typo Knig] There were some very nice looking women grad students in my department when I was getting my PhD. IMHO two or three could have gone into modeling or acting, if they wanted to. Seriously! That was physics, not math, but close enough for present purposes. I didn’t hang out with math grad students much, but I’m sure there were some beauties there as well. The fact that all of the women were smart and nice just amplified their physical beauty. [/QUOTE] Introduce me! Introduce me, please. [/QUOTE] I’ve lost contact with them myself, more’s the pity. ☹ Yes I’m married, but I’m not **dead!** ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/78 "2007-02-21T18:55:06Z")
[QUOTE=Typo Knig] Wiki links: [Science Citation Index](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Citation_Index) and, more generally, [citation index](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_index). Also see [Impact Factor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor). From the Citation Index wiki page: “In a landmark paper of 1965 [Ralph Garner at Drexel University] and Irving Sher showed the correlation between citation frequency and eminence in demonstrating that Nobel Prize winners published five times the average number of papers while their work was cited 30 to 50 times the average.” I don’t have access to Science Citation Index myself, but any good University librarian should be able to help. Wiki says there’s a web site where one can make queires, but I need to get back to my real job. [/QUOTE] My location allows me to access the SCI database from the convenience of my desk. Danica’s paper has been cited twice. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/79 "2007-02-21T20:23:09Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] According to Wikipedia, law students who do a dissertation instead are awarded a J.S.D., or a Doctor of Judicial Science, which is primarily for if you want to become a law professor or a legal scholar of some sort. Also, the American Bar Association requires schools to require J.D. students to complete “a substantial research paper of publishable quality” if the schools wish to be accredited with the ABA. [/QUOTE] That is not really correct. A J.S.D. (or S.J.D.) is a post-J.D. graduate degree with research and dissertation requirements similar to the Ph.D. The ordinary law school program requirements by the A.B.A. require class attendence for the equivalent of three academic years, and has no provision for fitting a dissertation in. The research paper requirement you mention is in fact rather minimal and can be satisfied by simply taking a course that requires a final paper (usually 20-25 pages, though often less) rather than an exam. The J.S.D. degree is quite rare in American legal education. Indeed, the other post J.D. law degree, the LL.M. is not particularly common for law professors, either. Most law professors only have an undergraduate bachelors and a J.D. (or LL.B., the prior designation of the degree, for some older professors), though it is now common to see law professors with a masters or other advanced degree in a related field. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613/80 "2007-02-22T08:10:28Z")
[QUOTE=StGermain] I used to babysit for the kids of [Alan Page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Page), a pro football player for the Minnesota viking, and probably the only person to be a State Supreme Court judge and an inductee into the Football Hall of Fame. Nice guy, too. [/QUOTE] This may be true, but Supreme Court Justice **Byron White** probably could have been in the Football Hall of Fame if he had kept on playing football. [QUOTE=wikipedia] White was a star football player for the University of Colorado Buffaloes, where he acquired the nickname “Whizzer”, which he later came to despise. After graduation he signed with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers), playing there during the 1938 season. He took 1939 off to study at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, but returned to play for the Detroit Lions from 1940-41. In three NFL seasons, he played in 33 games. He led the league in rushing yards in 1938 and 1940. His career was cut short when he entered the United States Navy during World War II; after the war, he elected to attend law school rather than returning to football. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. [/QUOTE] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-real-not-honorary-doctorates/392613.md?page=5)