# China vs Dalai Lama vs Three Stooges

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-vs-dalai-lama-vs-three-stooges/817268>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 4, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-vs-dalai-lama-vs-three-stooges/817268 "2018-07-04T04:57:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![John\_R\_Bales](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@John\_R\_Bales](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_R_Bales)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-vs-dalai-lama-vs-three-stooges/817268/1 "2018-07-04T04:57:32Z")

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Has anyone been denied entry to China for wearing a Three Stooges T-Shirt? (Due to the resemblance between Curly and the Dalai Lama).

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**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-vs-dalai-lama-vs-three-stooges/817268/2 "2018-07-04T05:15:51Z")

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I don’t see the resemblance. However, in 1987, a British woman who was visiting Tibet had a Chinese soldier attempt to tear off her shirt, which had an image of comedian Phil Silvers, aka Sgt. Bilko, because the soldier mistook Silvers for the Dalai Lama.

> **['Sgt Bilko' mistaken for the Dalai Lama - UPI Archives](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/11/14/Sgt-Bilko-mistaken-for-the-Dalai-Lama/9590563864400/)**
>
> A British woman on a recent vacation in Tibet had a run-in with a Chinese soldier who mistook a picture on her T-shirt of the American television character...