# Famous people that everyone knows that no one knows. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016 "2010-01-30T12:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/1 "2010-01-30T12:15:59Z")
There are a bunch of people I know that, if I say “I got the aXXo version of…,” know exactly who I am talking about. Look up aXXo in google and you get 32 million hits. But no one I know has any idea who aXXo is. Aussie band [TISM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TISM) never revealed who they were although the facts eventually did come out. Is this anonymous fame common apart from amongst the serial killer crowd? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/2 "2010-01-30T12:51:42Z")
Fuck me. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/3 "2010-01-30T13:35:14Z")
The Stig. I’m sure some people know his real name, but he’s _supposed_ to be known only as The Stig. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/4 "2010-01-30T13:38:20Z")
Another band, [The Residents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Residents). They’ve released over 60 albums in their career, but through eyeball-shaped masks and a lot of care, their real identities are pretty much unknown. It took a fair amount of investigation to have a good guess at who some of the members are, though all deny it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/5 "2010-01-30T14:26:54Z")
Moved MPSIMS –\> Cafe Society And, **Cicero** , I’m not sure where you thought you were or what you thought you were adding to the thread, but don’t do shit like this: > [@Cicero](#): > > Fuck me. Thanks, twickster, MPSIMS/Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/6 "2010-01-30T14:32:57Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Another band, [The Residents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Residents). They’ve released over 60 albums in their career, but through eyeball-shaped masks and a lot of care, their real identities are pretty much unknown. It took a fair amount of investigation to have a good guess at who some of the members are, though all deny it. Yes, the arc of anonymity for The Residents was similar to that of Klaatu…the difference being that The Residents put out a lot more great stuff, and they’re still denying who they are (Klaatu finally 'fessed up). ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/7 "2010-01-30T15:05:18Z")
I was going to add Klaatu, there was a rumor they were actually the Beatles but that got shot down fast. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/8 "2010-01-30T15:17:50Z")
The guys in \*\*Daft Punk \*\*aren’t exactly anonymous but you’d have a tough time ever recognizing them since they always appear w/ robot masks. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/9 "2010-01-30T15:33:52Z")
Few people know[Buckethead](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Buckethead%2C_2006.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/10 "2010-01-30T15:40:52Z")
British graffiti/fine artist [Banksy](http://www.banksy.co.uk/). ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/11 "2010-01-30T20:05:12Z")
Can we include the subgroup of famous people that everyone (here) knows that no one knows that everyone actually pretty much knows? If so, then Cecil Adams. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/12 "2010-01-31T02:59:17Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > The Stig. was going to be my contribution. Adam Carolla outside of just being “the man show guy” ?? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/13 "2010-01-31T03:35:16Z")
This is a local one (and his identity is now known) - Cool “Disco” Dan: > **[Cool "Disco" Dan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_%22Disco%22_Dan)** > > Cool "Disco" Dan (December 31, 1969 – July 26, 2017) was the pseudonym of American graffiti artist Dan Hogg. His standard mark, a particularly styled rendering of his name, was ubiquitous in the Washington metropolitan area, notably along the route of the Washington Metro Red Line. > Dan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1969. His mother and father moved the family to Annandale, Virginia, when Dan was a young boy. As a child, Dan was teased for being short; neighborhood children called him "Di... ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/14 "2010-01-31T06:00:31Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Moved MPSIMS –\> Cafe Society > > And, **Cicero** , I’m not sure where you thought you were or what you thought you were adding to the thread, but don’t do shit like this: > > Thanks, > > twickster, MPSIMS/Cafe Society moderator He thought he was Britney Spears. If You Seek Amy ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/15 "2010-02-02T04:53:14Z")
I had heard Adam Corrolla on “Loveline” way before The Man Show. I thought he was funnier on radio than TV. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/16 "2010-02-02T04:57:20Z")
Jack Chick Bentley Little Thomas Pynchon ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/17 "2010-02-02T06:03:55Z")
Jandek. Dude’s been recording since 1978, has 60 albums and a huge cult following, but no one knows anything about him or who he is. He’s only given two interviews and only played a handful of live shows (which are never advertised in advance and at which he says nothing to anyone, doesn’t even acknowledge the crowd, and just packs up and walks offstage whenever he feels he’s done). John Twelve Hawks. Not merely one of those “recluse writers,” nobody really knows anything about him. He’s never met his publisher and only communicates via satellite phone and voice scrambler. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/18 "2010-02-02T07:04:39Z")
Gummo Marx. Everyone who knows from the Marx Brothers knows that Gummo was one, but no one would recognize him on the street. Steve Ditko Gary Larson ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/19 "2010-02-02T13:18:11Z")
[Blue Man Group](http://www.blueman.com/index.php) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016/20 "2010-02-02T14:09:01Z")
Over in the Susan Boyle thread, a lot of people were asking “Who is Elaine Paige.” Indeed, Ms. Paige’s last name was initally spelled incorrectly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-that-everyone-knows-that-no-one-knows/527016.md?page=2)