For the life of me, I cannot pronounce Pedro Almodovar’s name, it always comes out “Pedro I’m a Dove Bar.”
And the late Benazir Bhutto? Thanks to a reporter friend with an odd sense of humor, she will always be “Bazumba Brassiere” to me, no matter how long I stop and think.
And I always–always!--confuse Holocaust writer Primo Levy and Big Bandleader Phil Spitalny, leading to more than once mentioning “Primo Levy and His All-Girl Orchestra.”
Are there any famous names that your brain just refuses to get right?
Not really a mixup, more a conflation. For several years I thought filmmakers Merchant/Ivory were one person, named Merchant Ivory. Guess I didn’t pay a lot of attention during the titles to Howards End.
I don’t know how famous this is, but Houston Astros pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. Even in my head, it’s “Wandy Wodweeguez.” If I attempt to say his name out loud, I have to stop the sentence, say his first name, think about the motor actions necessary to say “Rodriguez,” and then enunciate it slowly while thinking about what my tongue is doing the whole time. If I don’t do all of these steps, I will inevitably mess up his name and have to back up and try again.
