Character names not likely to be in the phone book

Cafe Society
1

Not too many months ago I saw The Tin Star (with Anthony Perkins and Henry Fonda) on cable and laughed out loud at Neville Brand’s character’s name: Bart Bogardus!

Can you point to another character name that is as out-of-place as this?

Better yet, do you know personally anybody named Bogardus?

The closest I can come is Buster Boguskie who played baseball for Nashville’s minor league team back in the 50’s or 60’s. He ran for public office and had hats, buttons, and posters with some slogan like “I’m a Buster Truster.”

Can you top this?

2

Pussy Galore.

3

Dang! Ya beat me to it.

4

That’s a fine old surname, all right!

I tried to find (by way of Character search at IMDB) another odd name, but must not be spelling it closely enough. It was something like “Phil Phidacter” (sounded like that anyway). I just remember that the guy with that name was played by a middle-aged pudgy guy with a flat-top who was also visible in commercials for stuff like laundry detergent or washing machines or some sort of antacid. This would be going back at least 10 years. I wish I could think of that actor’s name because I could find that “Phidacter” dude’s name that way. It sounded very fake to me. Know any Phidacters?

5

None of Schwartzenegger’s character’s names will ever be found in an Austrian phonebook. How did Ben Richards get an Austrian accent?

6

Well, according to the 1990 census, Bogarus is ranked the 19,297th most popular name in the US. Not bad, but “Galore” is not found.

Another rare name: SF author James Tiptree, Jr. Tiptree also does not appear and was always suspected being a pen name (it was; eventually, Tiptree’s identity was revealed).

Ralph Kramden’s last name is not listed; Gleason specifically made up a last name.

7

No, not personally, but whitepages.com has 300 listings with that last name, including 9 with the first initial ‘B’, any of whom could be named Bart.

8

Whitepages.com lists 21 people with the last name ‘Galore’, as well as 2 with the first initial ‘P’, though it’s highly unlikely either are named ‘Pussy’. :wink:

9

I’d be willing to bet there are very few people named John Small Berries, at least that have listed phone numbers.

10

I found that guy! His name is Troy Evans and he played Roger Podacter in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

I just kept messing around with spellings until I got a hit. How’s that for luck?

Good stuff on Bogardus by the way. I stand impressed.

11

Sy Snoodles.

12

Any character played by either Groucho Marx or W.C. Fields.

13

In the episode of The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob runs for mayor, Bart is seen chuckling over a name he found in the phone book- A. Gorilla.

14

I believe it may have been Roger Ebert’s complaint about some of Steve Martin’s character names that he was treading on hallowed ground that only Fields and Groucho could safely tread. If it wasn’t Ebert it should have been.

The Ian Fleming names all go into the “highly doubtful” category of phone-book eligibility. However, I would definitely like to meet a Moneypenny in a banking environment.

15

Or Podacter, Roger…from “Ace Ventura - Pet Detective”?

VCNJ~

16

Yes! (See post #10 above)

17

In the phonebook in my hometown threre was for many years a listing for Firefly, Rufus T.

18

I ran across a Karl LaFong once.

19

Moreover, PeopleSearch shows a Quincy A. Wagstaff in Deerfield, IL!

20

Simon Zinc-Trumpet-Harris