# Celebrity surprises: **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135 "2006-06-26T00:29:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [June 27, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/41 "2006-06-27T04:27:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I read also that her father is considered one of the pre-eminent professors of Buddhist studies in the US. I think you’ve got your actresses mixed up. Mira’s father, Paul Sorvino, is an actor. It’s Uma Thurman’s father, Robert, who’s a professor. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/42 "2006-06-27T04:27:59Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy] I read also that her father is considered one of the pre-eminent professors of Buddhist studies in the US. [/QUOTE] That’s Uma Thurman’s dad, Frank. Her mother was married to Timothy Leary before she was born. Mira Sorvino’s dad is [actor/opera singer/chef Paul Sorvino](http://www.romeoandjuliet.com/players/images/castcap.jpg). Brendan Fraser speaks fluent French and Ben Affleck speaks fluent Spanish. Both have given interviews without need for an interpreter. (Fraser’s also an exceptionally nice guy according to people I know who’ve met him.) Hal Holbrook is most famous for his one man show of Mark Twain but few realize he is also considered a serious Twain scholar. Before beginning the show as a young man in the 1950s he did months of research on Twain’s speaking voice, gestures, accent, vocabulary, etc., and was very close to several very old people who had known Twain well (most notably Twain’s daughter Clara but also his then surviving secretaries, servants, “angel fish” [young girls Twain befriended as an old man- many have tried to make something sordid but I just don’t think anything sordid was there]). He’s memorized dozens of hours of Twain material and tailors each performance to his own and the audience’s fancy. If you ever get a chance to see this show (and at 82 he won’t be doing it much longer) GO! He’s probably the only Twain scholar who’s only one degree separated (many ways) from the man himself. (His two inaccuracies in performance, both done for effect and in full knowledge they’re inaccurate: he always wears a white suit [Twain only gave one lecture in a white suit and the subject was white suits] and he smokes a cigar on stage [Twain smoked cigars all day long but not while performing].) Holbrook’s daughter Victoria is a very noted scholar on Islamic religions and politics. James Woods is often cited as quite possibly the most intelligent working actor with an IQ well above genius level and a near photographic memory of texts. He also shared a flight with some of the 9-11 hijackers and reported it to the FBI afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/43 "2006-06-27T04:35:45Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Bandleader Fred Waring (of Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians) invented the blender, or, at least, the Waring Blender, which is still a major brand. [/QUOTE] “Well, I met a girl in West Hollywood I ain’t naming names She really worked me over good She was just like Jesse James She really worked me over good She was a credit to her gender She put me through some changes, Lord Sort of like a Waring blender” – Warren Zevon, “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/44 "2006-06-27T12:54:13Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] James Woods is often cited as quite possibly the most intelligent working actor with an IQ well above genius level and a near photographic memory of texts. [/QUOTE] Woods dropped out of MIT shortly before graduation to do acting. My searches turned up a number of pages claiming that Dexter Holland has completed his PhD at USC. I hope he has, because I first heard of his being a candidate about 8 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/45 "2006-06-27T13:02:52Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I think you’ve got your actresses mixed up. Mira’s father, Paul Sorvino, is an actor. It’s Uma Thurman’s father, Robert, who’s a professor. [/QUOTE] D’oh! (also thanks **Sampiro** ) And I KNEW that. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/46 "2006-06-27T13:55:55Z")
Stephen Hawking of **Futurama** is actually considered to be a pretty good physicist. Likewise, Futurama’s Al Gore was Vice President of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/47 "2006-06-27T19:22:42Z")
Steve Buscemi was a NYC fireman in the 1980s and offered his services during the horrors of 9-11. They accepted his offer and he worked regular fireman shifts for two weeks. Ben Curtis, bka the “Dude, you’re gettin’ a Dell!” guy, was also a 9-11 hero. A former Eagle Scout, he was a few blocks from the WTC when the crashes/explosions began and used his Scout training to perform First Aid on the wounded. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/48 "2006-06-28T00:37:42Z")
Some corrections: According to most of the sources I’ve checked, Paul Verhoeven does not have a Ph.D., although his bachelor’s degree was indeed in physics and math. Mayim Bialik, according to sources I’ve checked, hasn’t finished her Ph.D. yet. And one that’s more amazing than mentioned: Geena Davis wasn’t that much of an athlete in her younger years. She didn’t take up archery until she was in her late thirties, and she almost made the U.S. Olympic team in the sport at the age of 43. That’s considerable older than the average archery Olympic contender, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/49 "2006-06-28T02:29:43Z")
Broadway and movie star **Ruth Chatterton** later became a successful novelist and a licensed pilot who flew her own plane cross-country. Ziegfeld Follies girl **Justine Johnston** went to medical school and became a pathologist and innovator in treatment of syphilis. Another Follies girl, **Dolores** , and the third Gabor sister, **Magda** , were in the French Resistance in WWII. Silent movie star **Milton Sills** was also a professor of psychology and philosophy who coauthored the book _Values, a Philosophy of Human Needs_. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/50 "2006-06-28T02:58:12Z")
From 1976-1979, Tony Danza was a professional boxer who boxed under the name ‘Dangerous’ Tony Danza. He posted a 9-3 record with all nine wins coming by knockout Billy Crystal attended Marshall University in West Virginia on a baseball scholarship, but the program the program was suspended during his freshman year and he didn’t return as a sophomore. Brook Shields is the Granddaughter of Frank Shields a Tennis Champ and Actor from the 30’s and 40’s John Goodman went to Southwestern Missouri State University on a football scholarship, but an injury ended his career David Spade is the Brother-in-law of Kate Spade the designer ---
**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:** [June 28, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/51 "2006-06-28T03:41:58Z")
I just recently read that Rainn Wilson (on _The Office_) is the son of science fiction author Robert Wilson. I was amazed by this information. And a little suspicious (although after my recent Don Lemmon thread I’m not calling anyone out for awhile). I looked for confirmation of this online and I can’t find any mention of it anywhere. And to add confusion, there’s actually two different science fiction authors named Robert Wilson - Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Charles Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/52 "2006-06-28T08:44:09Z")
Author James Michener, who had no known living relatives and was a very astute financial manager, died in meager circumstances by choice. He had placed all of his money and royalties and investments in a charitable trust that he used to make bequests, and by the time he died he had given away far in excess of **$100 million** to everything from hospitals to colleges (lots and lots to colleges and scholarships) to authors prizes to anonymous donations, etc… He was worth something like $50,000 when he died and said he regretted that he was worth that much, but he just had to have “some money in my checking account in case I want to travel”. (His foundation was worth millions and owned his home and paid his expenses, so he wasn’t really in modest circumstances- it was a tax arrangement.) Kurt Vonnegut’s novel _Cat’s Cradle_ was accepted as a Masters thesis in Anthropology at his alma mater (U Chicago? I can’t remember) even though he didn’t offer it as such. (Vonnegut had begun graduate work in Anthropology but dropped out to support his family before getting his M.A.). Dr. Joyce Brother’s knowledge of boxing won her the title prize on the $64,000 Question. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2006, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/53 "2006-06-28T11:20:17Z")
Little Nemo writes: \> I just recently read that Rainn Wilson (on The Office) is the son of science fiction \> author Robert Wilson. I was amazed by this information. And a little suspicious \> (although after my recent Don Lemmon thread I’m not calling anyone out for \> awhile). I looked for confirmation of this online and I can’t find any mention of it \> anywhere. And to add confusion, there’s actually two different science fiction \> authors named Robert Wilson - Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Charles Wilson. It’s pretty clear that this isn’t true. Rainn Wilson’s father almost certainly can’t be Robert Charles Wilson, because they only differ in age by 15 years (1953-1968). It also looks like it can’t be Robert Anton Wilson either. Here’s a website giving the names of his children: [http://home.swipnet.se/~w-40977/coolpeople/rawilson.html](http://home.swipnet.se/~w-40977/coolpeople/rawilson.html) ---
**Author:** ![Doom\_Slinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Doom\_Slinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doom_Slinger)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/54 "2006-06-28T11:42:00Z")
**David Duchovny** earned a B.A. in English Literature from Princeton and a master’s degree in English literature from Yale. He was on track to receive his doctorate from Yale when he left to pursue his acting career in 1987. IMDB says the title of his unfinished dissertation was “Magic and Technology in Contemporary Poetry and Prose.” ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/55 "2006-06-28T13:28:35Z")
Ron Jeremy is supposedly a classically trained pianist, and was a teacher New York in his pre porn days, as was either Gene or Paul from Kiss. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/56 "2006-06-28T13:37:29Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Dr. Joyce Brother’s knowledge of boxing won her the title prize on the $64,000 Question. [/QUOTE] To be fair, it was a combination of her knowledge about boxing, and the show’s method of ‘interviewing’ contestants and then feeding them questions they’d be able to answer, which resulted in her winning. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/57 "2006-06-28T13:38:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Dr. Joyce Brother’s knowledge of boxing won her the title prize on the $64,000 Question. [/QUOTE] And proved it in testimony in front of a Congressional committee investigating the fixed TV game shows of that time, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/58 "2006-06-28T14:44:09Z")
Jerry Lewis developed a videotape system that allowed him to instantly review a take after it was shot, to aid him in directing scenes in which he was acting; it’s been a standard filmmaker’s tool ever since. Charlie Chaplin taught himself the piano, the violin, and the cello. He also had sufficient financial sense to pull all his money out of the market prior to the 1929 crash. Raymond Chandler was a public-school educated civil servant in England, then a successful oil company vice president in the States before becoming a fiction writer in his mid-40s. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/59 "2006-06-28T15:29:25Z")
[QUOTE=Don Logan] Ron Jeremy is supposedly a classically trained pianist, and was a teacher New York in his pre porn days, as was either Gene or Paul from Kiss. [/QUOTE] Ron Jeremy also has a masters’ degree in social work. Not the honorary kind. Cheech Marin is a very respected collector of Chicano art. His collection is one of the largest in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135/60 "2006-06-28T15:31:21Z")
Oh, I believe Cheech also appeared on Jeopardy - not Celebrity Jeopardy (what is light urple?), regular-people Jeopardy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-surprises/362135.md?page=4)